The Assassin: Nemesis
by Nate Sindel
Summary: Chapter 11 is now up, hope you all like it.  Remember to review after reading.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Kim Possible  
  
IMPORTANT NOTE  
  
This is a revised version that will be more compatible with actual mythology. Most of the chapter is relatively the same as before, with small add-ons to make it all work.  
  
IMPORTANT NOTE  
  
Here it is, the sequel, I'm sorry for the Chaos thing being too short. I wanted make it longer, but all the ideas I had come up with fled my brain. That's what I get for typing it at 12:30. Oh well, what's done is done, and no one can change it. I could, but won't. Most of you are probably wondering just why I put Bonnie in there. Well, unlike some author's, I don't think that something should be uploaded into a certain category unless it contains at least one character from the series it represents. And Bonnie seemed the best to be put in it, followed closely by Shego. With that said, here's the sequel.  
  
*~*~* dreamscape  
  
*~* flashback  
  
The Assassin: Nemesis  
  
Chapter 1  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
June, the first month of summer, the time when schools close and children are let out to enjoy summer. The months have passed by like nothing at all, with little happening that could take Nate from his home. Unless you count the little job he had being Prince Wally's bodyguard for a few months (let's just say that democracy is still a dream in that country). He thought she would be annoyed with him, or at least a little angry, and if she was, she was doing a great job of hiding it, but all she ever showed to him, and mainly him, was patience.  
  
*~*~*  
  
Nate stood by the bellows, pumping air into the large fire he had built. Sitting in that fire was a piece of steel, four feet long, and two inches wide. It was heated till it was red hot, once that was done he grabbed a pair of rather large tongs and pulled it from the fire, placing it on an anvil. He raised a hammer above his head and started to pound on the metal. The part of the metal he had been smashing was hanging off the edge of the anvil. It soon broke and folded beneath the other end of the metal. He pounded it until it was flat and then stuck it in the fire again. This technique is called folding, it was how the katanas of old were made.  
  
The doorbell rang and he cut off the fire's supply of oxygen, it quickly died. Walking to the door of the small building, in which he had built a forge in, he removed the soot-covered apron he was wearing and looped it over a hook. He then took off the goggles, and placed those on top. The ringing of the doorbell almost drove him insane the whole walk to the door. Upon opening it a small, white ball of energy hit him. He staggered back and looked at the girl clinging to his waist.  
  
"Hey Nate!" the girl said looking up at him.  
  
"Sarah, what are you doing here?" he asked her.  
  
Sarah Sindel, Nate's youngest cousin, she's about 3" feet tall, give or take. Her head was a mop of pure white hair (don't ask me why it's white, it just is); her eyes were large, and green, but not pale green like his, they were a dark, forest green. She wore a pair of blue jean shorts and a white t-shirt, which looked dirty compared to her hair.  
  
"Mom and Dad had to work, so they told me to come here," she said looking up at him.  
  
Nate almost let out a growl at his aunt and uncle. They were the two most irresponsible mercenaries he knew. By the laws set up by their family's guild, when a child is born the parents must stay home to teach the child. But the two of them were never big on following rules.  
  
"You don't mind, do you?"  
  
"No, of course I don't mind," he said reassuringly. "Come on, are you hungry?"  
  
"Yeah!"  
  
*****  
  
The front door opened and Shego walked in with Kim right behind her. She looked around, noticing a bag next the door.  
  
"Nate, I'm home," she yelled to the empty house, an ominous echo resounded back to her. "Where is he?"  
  
"Don't you think he already knows we're here?" Kim suggested. "Hey, maybe he's out with Bonnie."  
  
"Not likely, his coat's here," she pointed to his new trenchcoat (think of the one Vash the Stampede wears on Trigun, except its green).  
  
They heard the back door open and close, and went to the kitchen. There was Nate, covered in snow, with an equally covered Sarah. Shego figured they had used the frost from the inside of the icebox they had built into the back of the house.  
  
"Sammy!" she yelled and ran to hug Shego.  
  
"Sammy?" Kim asked quirking an eyebrow.  
  
"You didn't have to yell," Nate said nonchalantly as he removed his own boots. He reached up and slowly ran his hands through his snow-soaked hair. "I could hear you loud and clear."  
  
He pointed to his ears, which had grown longer, pointier, like an elf's ears, but at the very, very tip was a small protrusion that told you it would become a horn. Of course, Sarah doesn't know what he is, and no one is going to tell her anytime soon.  
  
"Kim, this is Sarah, Sarah, this is Kim Possible," Shego did the introductions between them. "My, uh, girlfriend."  
  
"Sammy's got a girlfriend, Sammy's got a girlfriend," Sarah teased pointing at Shego and laughing.  
  
Shego, still new to actually having Kim, blushed a little; it would have been a little, had she not been so pale.  
  
"So, what's it t'you?" Shego asked with mock annoyance.  
  
Nate just stood off to the side, smiling at the scene in front of him. He could feel that Chaos was in purgatory, limbo for those of you who don't know what that is, waiting for his chance to come back, which, by Nate's reckoning, would be fairly soon.  
  
'Dammit, why can't people just stay dead,' he thought as a picture of the great scales in South America floated to his mind, the side of evil was beginning to slip down again. 'Not now, NOT NOW!'  
  
His fist lightly punched the countertop behind him. Shego, Kim and Sarah stopped what they were doing and looked at him. It was silent for a full ten seconds before he looked around at them.  
  
"I have to check on something," he said and headed for the door. Right before leaving he said, "If Bonnie calls, tell her I'll call her back, if she comes here, tell her to wait."  
  
"Right," Shego nodded.  
  
The door closed with a snap, and a few magnets on the refrigerator door fell. He ran to the shed he built for the forge and stepped inside, spreading his wings. The two extra appendages slipped around and around his body, fully covering him. The white light spread from the roots of his hair and along the lines of his feathers. The next moment he was gone.  
  
*****  
  
Nate appeared on a ledge before a large stone arch, the top of which had to be at least fifty feet above him. A mural of war, death, destruction and rebirth encircled it, starting where the left side rose from the ground, to where it touched down on the right side. He took out his pike, which extended itself instantly, and walked through the archway.  
  
"Nate, where have you been, what's going on?" Sashna asked urgently.  
  
"This is it, this is what I've been fearing, Midora" he said, his voice coming out in a hiss, revealing that he was not Nate at the moment. "Quetzalcoatl has somehow gotten loose."  
  
"No, that's impossible, you sealed him in for all eternity," now Midora had taken over, bringing some reason to Sashna's mind.  
  
"I know, that's what worries me, he couldn't possibly have gotten out without help," he growled and walked past her stomping into the temple. "The abyss's grip is unbreakable, only the unstoppable force of a juggernaut could escape. My twin brother...my evil, twin brother, how did you get out?"  
  
His steps became so forceful as he walked that cracks began appearing in the millennia-old stones. Finally he found himself where he wanted to be, the balance room. The scales had dipped, and drastically, no human could possibly be that evil, not even Drakken. He took this in as well as everything else; on the outside he was calm, collected, but inside he was frantically trying to find ways to take control of the situation.  
  
Leaving the balance room he quickly walked to the other side of his temple, there the abyss was. The heavy doors, he noticed as he pushed them open, were untouched. Inside was a swirling black mass in the center of a massive circular room. Four spires reached up from four points, equidistant around the pool. One of them had a small notch in it, for the key. And in that notch...was half the key.  
  
"Shit," was all he said looking up at the gaping hole in the ceiling. Indeed he had come through the abyss, and with great force as well. He reached out and took the half of the key that was left and turned to leave the room. "Aeris must have gotten out as well."  
  
*****  
  
"Wait, let me get this straight," Bonnie said, she had just arrived a few minutes after Nate left (how's that for coincidence?), "you want me to believe that Nate just up and left, not a word about where he was going?"  
  
"That's about the gist of it," Shego said sliding deeper into the cushy couch in the living room, Sarah sitting on her lap. "Just feel glad he mentioned you before he left."  
  
"I guess, but it just feels like he's trying to get away from me."  
  
"Well, I mean, you have been spending a lot of time together, maybe he just needs his space," Kim suggested. "Besides, he's got to do his 'job'."  
  
"If Nate wanted his space, we'd know it, at least I think we would," Shego said while trying to keep the little girl on her lap to stay still.  
  
-----  
  
He had been gone for almost three hours at this point, without even a phone call. All was silent, since they had all talked about everything there was to talk about, and were bored out of their minds. The silence, though, didn't last as there was a small creak from the mantle, where Nate's scales were. They were beginning to tip, and tip fast.  
  
"Oh crap," Kim said remembering what it meant all too well.  
  
(These scales tipped now because it takes a little while for the signal from the main ones to reach it. Stupid? Yes, but it works.)  
  
*****  
  
He knew who had helped them, the only ones who could have helped them. The dark council of assassins, the people who had sent Chaos to kill him, and, of course, take his pike. It was his weapon that was used to create balance in the world, but it could also bring death and destruction of the highest caliber. The world would be thrown into complete and utter...chaos. Naturally the council would take control, and with his brother wielding his weapon, nothing would stand in their way.  
  
"The armory, I have to get to the armory," he said as his feet left the ground and he literally flew to what appeared to be a stone wall. His feet touched the ground and walked right through the wall.  
  
Inside was a long, narrow room. All along the walls were weapons of every type imaginable; from all around the world. There were katanas, naginatas, pikes, lances, spears, claymors, rapiers, two massive shotels (picture the ones that Gundam Sandrock Custom uses in Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz). Several kens, maces, clubs, flails, katars, picks, axes of all kinds, kukris, a ram dao, a few talwars (or tulwars, depends), khandas, several gauntlet blades, a firangi (it means foreign in India), dhas, wakizashis, a falchion, three bastard swords (funny name, but it's true). Tridents lined the walls, as well as a few halberds, and a bardiche, several glaive variants were also present. And to think, that's just the tip of the iceberg.  
  
(That paragraph has got have the most amount of suggested spelling errors I've ever typed. I dare you to look up everything I've listed, it's all there; hey, I can't make this stuff up, someone already did.)  
  
He continued to grab weapons from the walls as he walked by. All of them retracted to their most basic form, which he tucked into his belt; others went in his bag, which he grabbed before leaving the forge. They all retracted except for the two shotels, which he strapped to his back. He exited the room covered in weaponry, not to mention he was still carrying his pike.  
  
"Kul, what do you plan to do?" Midora asked.  
  
"I...don't know," he said dropping the bag and standing there. "Where are Tila and Mila?"  
  
"Down in the valley, why?"  
  
He gritted his teeth and growled, a low growl that couldn't possibly come from human vocal cords. Nothing was going right today, and to think everything had been going pretty good so far. Breaking into a run, the force of which blew Midora off her feet, he ran through the arch and jumped off the cliff, hoping his suspicion was wrong.  
  
His feet hit the side of the mountain and he skidded all the way down to the small patch of jungle between that mountain and the next. In the forest was a river fed by melting snow, and, because of its altitude, it was usually quite warm. He had to make sure his children were alive. What he saw brought a smile to his face.  
  
Two serpentine dragons were splashing around in the water, looking for all the world like the old pictures of sea serpents, the way their bodies came up from the water in arches. He breathed a sigh of relief that didn't go unnoticed by the two playing dragons. They turned to look at him, and what could only be described as two very toothy smiles crossed their faces.  
  
*****  
  
"So, you helped us out of the abyss, what do you want in return?" Aeris said as she stood in front a several shrouded beings. Quetzalcoatl was behind her, not really feeling like talking.  
  
"We want you to kill Kukulkan's vessel, and take his balance pike," one of them said.  
  
"And then help us to take over this world," another said.  
  
"What if we don't want to?"  
  
"We'll make it worth your wild, besides, you're tied to this council by your honor. We freed you, so now you must repay us," the one in the center.  
  
"Well, I guess I must congratulate you on taking the time to properly prepare yourselves. But what will we be paid for our service?" Quetzalcoatl asked stepping out of the shadows.  
  
"Control of the entire Western Hemisphere, to do with as you please."  
  
The two carefully considered this offer; it was true that neither of them could just kill them and take the entire planet for their own. Even if they could kill the council there was no guarantee of disposing of her partner's brother, since his powers were much greater than hers were. But, as usual, there were other ways around such obstacles.  
  
"Fine, why not," she said and was handed a document to sign. She made sure to read it thoroughly, and to ask a few questions about it, which were answered with lies. 'It doesn't matter, once my debt to them is repaid, I'll just kill them and take this planet for myself.'  
  
'Don't you mean for ourselves, Aeris?' the god behind her asked.  
  
'Yes, of course, how selfish of me.'  
  
With a slight smile she signed the document with a thumbprint in blood. She then handed it to Quet and he signed it in blood. It was then carried over to the council member in the center to be signed.  
  
You're probably all wondering what they look like in this form. Well, that can be answered without a lengthy description. All I have to do is ask you if you play the Yu-Gi-Oh card game. If you say yes, then here's what Aeris looks like. If you have the card Marie the Fallen One that's that she looks like. If you don't have the card, or don't play, look up the card name on some search engine, they'll have it. Quetzalcoatl looks like the card Harpie's Brother, except his hair is long, and white, pulled into a braid much like Nate's (you'll probably notice, in later chapters, that I will use many cards from the game as descriptions, I hope you don't mind).  
  
*****  
  
The door began to open at the Sindel house, and Nate walked in. There, in the next room, were all of the people he had just left, plus one more. Slowly he shut the door quietly, as to not alert them he was home. It worked, they all continued to talk, but he didn't listen in, didn't think it right to intrude. He was about to go up the stairs when he heard his name.  
  
"I just can't help but wonder if Nate likes me," he heard Bonnie's voice. "I mean, really likes me."  
  
"Well of course he does, whatever gave you the idea he didn't?" that was Shego.  
  
"Yeah, Bonnie, if Shego says he does, then he does," there was Kim.  
  
"Hi," he said walking in the room like he hadn't heard a thing.  
  
"Nate, you're back," Bonnie got up and kissed him on the cheek. "Where did you go?"  
  
"I can't tell you," he looked down at her, and she looked right back. "I'm sorry."  
  
"No, no, it's okay."  
  
"Well, we'll just leave you two alone," Shego said and grabbed Kim and Sarah.  
  
He sat down on the couch and Bonnie sat next to him, still watching him. He could sense her disappointment, her fear, her resentment; she really wanted to know him, but he never told her anything more than he felt she had to know.  
  
'Dammit, this used to be so much easier,' he thought, 'now, with her, it's getting too complicated.'  
  
"Bonnie?"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Do you trust me, I mean really, completely, trust me?"  
  
"Of course I do, why wouldn't I?" she asked expecting bad news.  
  
"You know what I do, and you also know that there's no way for me to stop doing it, no matter what, right?"  
  
"Yeah, I keep telling you, I understand."  
  
"I don't like keeping things from you Bonnie, it just comes with the job."  
  
"What if I said I wanted in?"  
  
"Well I suppose I would have to send a formal request to the guild and...WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?"  
  
*****  
  
"Come on Shego, I thought you were fearless," Kim said as they approached the door to Nate's empty room.  
  
"Fearless, yes, stupid, no," the older woman countered as she followed the teenager down the hall.  
  
"Then what's the harm in looking?"  
  
"The harm in looking is that he would beat us senseless if he found even one thing out of place. You know how meticulous he is with his stuff."  
  
It was too late for Shego to protest anymore when Kim opened the door to Nate's room, and saw how empty it was. There was pretty much nothing but a computer, a bed, lamp, dresser, and a window. The room itself, though, was huge, must have taken up almost half the second floor (actually, my room looks like a tornado hit it).  
  
On the dresser were a few pictures; which Kim just had to look at. One was of what she figured was the family: a very young Nate and Shego were in the front, with Erica and Matt Sindel in the back. Erica was holding an old 1928 Thompson SMG, while Matt was holding an SVD Dragunov. Another was of the entire family; grandparents, aunts, uncle, cousins, everyone Erica could round up.  
  
"I remember that one," Shego said taking the panoramic picture from her. "This was taken the year that Sarah was born, see, there she is."  
  
And, last but not least, there was a picture of Bonnie. Kim picked it up and looked it over, remembering what Bonnie had been like only a half year before, amazed at how far her former rival had come.  
  
'At least she didn't go the other way,' Kim thought setting the picture back where she had picked it up from.  
  
From the downstairs they heard the door open, then close, and they figured that Nate and Bonnie had left.  
  
"He better not take my car," Shego said leaving Nate's room with Kim in tow. "We shouldn't even be in here. It's one thing to go into his room and find nothing, it's would be completely different if we had found something to tease him with."  
  
"So, you weren't completely against it," Kim spotted.  
  
*****  
  
A few days later, across town, ten unconscious bodies laid on the ground in Middleton park. Their breathing was slow, but it was still there. Standing above them was Aeris, licking her lips, still tasting the souls she had just consumed. You would think that without souls these people would be dead, but as long as the mind and heart are active, the body remains alive, the soul is not truly needed.  
  
"Yummy," she said and looked around for more.  
  
"Nate, come on, I wanna show you this."  
  
She turned and stopped, just stopped, frozen. There, across the field were two people, one of them dragging the other. What froze her was not the fear that they had seen her, it would have been no matter at all to just drain them as well. What kept her from moving what that the boy had a green braid, and three long scars on his right shoulder.  
  
"Kul," she said in whisper, not really expecting to see him there.  
  
-----  
  
"Nate, come on," Bonnie said as she pulled him along.  
  
"Okay, okay, don't pull so hard," he easily matched her speed and direction to keep from getting his arm dislocated.  
  
Nate had completely given up trying to pry into Bonnie's mind, since she had figured out a way to keep him from it. She would began to think erratic thoughts, not one of them led to another, no complete thoughts were formed, which pretty much kept him guessing.  
  
"Wait, stop," he planted his feet firmly on the ground, Bonnie stopped before she lost her balance.  
  
"What?"  
  
After looking around and not seeing anything, he shrugged his shoulders, saying, "I thought I felt something."  
  
"Well, come on, we'll miss it," she said and began pulling him along again.  
  
"Miss what?"  
  
"You'll see."  
  
-----  
  
"That was close," Aeris said from the branch she sat on. "If he found me now, I'd be back in that abyss in no time."  
  
She dropped down to the ground and walked off through the woods.  
  
TBC  
  
Who is Aeris? Why is there no mention of her in any of the mythologies of any ancient culture? What happened between her and Kukulkan that would cause her to act like that? The answer to the second question is simple: she is a product of my own imagination that I thought of while playing FF7, hence the name. You will have to wait for the other questions to be answered later on in the story. I realize I am taken several liberties as an author here, so there will be a small history/mythology note at the beginning of the next chapter. Whelp, I hope you've enjoyed reading this revised first chapter, I'll try to get the next one up real soon. 


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Kim Possible.  
  
Okay, here's the second chapter. Thank you Chaos for your double review, what did you do, click the button twice? I'm just kiddin' ya. I know it seems cliché, but one twin must be evil, or else the story won't work (another author's liberty). Hope nobody minded the minor changes. Oh, thanks to Unknown for telling me what a mistake it was to put in the SA80, I picked it 'cause it looks cool. I've used one, my uncle collects guns, and I have to say that with all the rounds I've fired with it, nothing has gone wrong. Anyway, the Thompson is still a kickass gun. Well, not much else to say here, so I'll just type the history/mythology note and get on with the chapter.  
  
Alrighty, time to make some corrections so people won't be misinformed about mythology. First off, Kukulkan and Quetzalcoatl are technically one in the same, just believed in by different cultures. Kukulkan was the Mayan god of creation, civilization and learning, personified as a winged, green, serpent dragon. Quetzalcoatl was the Aztec and Toltec god of creation, civilization and learning, personified as a winged, white, serpent dragon. It is true that both could take on other forms, as most gods/dragons were believed to be able to. For example, Cortez, a Spanish conquistador, was believed by the Aztecs to be the returning Quetzalcoatl. Why, because he was white, had a beard, and came from the east, over the ocean. That last one was important because Quetzalcoatl had flown over the sea, saying he would return, and the prophesied year just happened to coincide with the arrival of the Spaniards (freaky, but true). The part about the beard is also true. To have the ability to grow a beard was the sign that the person was a god, or a high priest. I hope that you have enjoyed this little history/mythology lesson, and now, on to the story.  
  
*~* dreamscape  
  
*~*~* flashback  
  
The Assassin: Nemesis  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
"Bonnie, where are we going?" Nate asked as the girl in front of him sped up.  
  
"You'll see," was all she said.  
  
Nate just sighed and continued following her, not really feeling comfortable at the moment. Something just wasn't right around them, he just couldn't put his finger on what it was. Whatever was out there was keeping itself well hidden from his senses, all six of them. He had been thinking so hard he didn't realize that Bonnie had stopped moving.  
  
"We're here," she said.  
  
Looking ahead, Nate saw that they were in a part of the park he had not yet been to. They stood atop a rather large, steep hill, that led down to a small clearing on the edge of a pond. All up the hill there were people setting up blankets and such to sit on, but the reason for which was still unclear. Bonnie led him over to a large boulder that stuck out from the ground and sat on it, obviously waiting for something.  
  
"Bonnie, are you absolutely, positively sure you want to be a part of this?" he asked her for the tenth time since she had said she wanted to join.  
  
"Of course, is there a problem?"  
  
"Well, there would be the constant absences from school, the secrets you had to keep from everyone you knew, and the fact that you don't seem too comfortable with killing," he said leaning back against the rock. "Your place is here, Bonnie, with the people that care about you the most."  
  
"Care? They don't care about me," she scoffed at the idea. "I never told you why I was like that, did I?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Well, how bout this, I'll tell you something and you answer my question. You know, quid pro quo."  
  
'Never should have watched Silence of the Lambs with her,' Nate thought.  
  
Before he could answer, though, what Bonnie had brought him here to see was starting. Fireworks began firing from the other side of the pond, and into the air. So many explosions of green, red, blue, purple, orange, yellow and gold filled the sky before them. The gold ones were small, but the shockwave created by them was enormous, and to be so close almost popped their ears (the gold are my personal favorites).  
  
-----  
  
Shego and Kim were at the bottom of the hill, also watching the fireworks, while doing a bit of light petting, light being an understatement. Several other couples around them moved back a bit, while several husbands and boyfriends alike were scolded for looking (girls, on behalf of all straight men, sorry, we just can't help it). They somehow got into a routine, kiss during the lame fireworks, and 'ooh' and 'aah' during the good ones, some of these being stressed a little.  
  
"Do you think Nate and Bonnie are here?" Kim asked looking around.  
  
"Sure they are, practically the whole town is here," Shego said and went back to what she was doing (yes, it is what you think, but I'm not going into it in detail, it's PG-13 for christ's sake).  
  
"Shego, cut it out, we're in public," the teenager gasped urgently.  
  
"That's what makes it all the more exciting."  
  
Kim gently pried the raven-haired woman off her and whispered in her ear, "Later, I promise."  
  
Shego was content with that and settled to sitting next to Kim, with her arm around her.  
  
"Better?" she asked.  
  
"Much."  
  
-----  
  
"I wonder what they see is so amazing about these things?" Aeris asked herself from where she stood, about a hundred feet to the side of her Kul and the person she didn't know. "They're just flashes of light, I could do that easy."  
  
She had conveniently changed her appearance as to evade detection. Her body had shifted itself to become one of the females whose soul she had drained not too long ago. The sweet echo of the girl's tortured mind was ringing in her mind, and she relished the shivers it sent through her body. She was standing not much taller than Kim, maybe an inch taller, her dirty blond hair cropped short, just short of her ears, and her eyes, instead of being blood red, were now a light shade of blue. Her head turned, and she looked over at Nate, with his arm around that...girl. Just the sight of it made her angry.  
  
'Stupid Kukulkan, he never noticed me...never, in all the time I had known him back then. He was always so serious about his job, and never had any fun, like the rest of us did,' she scoffed at the human who would be the actual reincarnation of such a horribly powerful entity. 'He probably just thinks that Kul's soul came from the pike, never thought that maybe his soul, and Kul's soul are one in the same. And that girl, what *does* he see in her anyway?'  
  
She just continued to glare at the girl who had her head on Kul's shoulder. After a little bit of searching through her new body's memory, she found what she was looking for, the girl's name.  
  
"So, it's Bonnie, is it, such a crude name," she said before turning to walk away. "Thank you Karen, I can already tell you're going to be a big help."  
  
*****  
  
The fireworks ended about an hour later, and everyone got up to leave, taking a few seconds to stretch. Everyone except for four people were left within a few minutes. Shego and Kim slowly made their way up the hill to where Nate and Bonnie still were. Upon reaching the top they saw Nate, eyes closed, head lolled back against the rock, and Bonnie, eyes closed, head resting on Nate's shoulder.  
  
"Aw, don't they look so cute like that?" Shego asked Kim in a loud whisper as they approached the two.  
  
"Aw, don't you get tired of saying that?" Nate asked opening his eyes.  
  
"Not really."  
  
"Thought so," he said shaking Bonnie out of her nap and standing up. "Come on, time to go."  
  
"Okay," she said rubbing her eyes.  
  
*****  
  
Nate laid in his bed, trying to sleep, till the was a knock at his door. He opened his eyes and looked at the small figure standing in the doorway, silhouetted by the hall light behind her.  
  
"Sarah, what are you doing up?" he asked the five-year-old in front of him.  
  
"I had a bad dream," she said with a slight sniffle to her voice.  
  
"Well hop up, and tell me about it," he said patting the spot on the large bed next to him.  
  
"Okay," she climbed on the bed and sat on his lap.  
  
He placed his arms around her and slowly rocked her back and forth, while she continued to sniffle. When her sobs subsided she kept her head against his chest as she spoke.  
  
"There was a lady, and she said she was going to take me away."  
  
"What did she look like?"  
  
"She was all black with red eyes, she was pretty though."  
  
'Aeris,' he thought. "What did she do?"  
  
"She was going to grab me, so I ran. She was really fast and caught me, it hurt a lot."  
  
"And that's when you woke up?"  
  
She nodded.  
  
"Do you want to go back to bed, or stay here?"  
  
"Can I stay here, please?"  
  
"Sure."  
  
-----  
  
Aeris was floating just outside Nate's window, watching him console the little girl whose dream she had just entered and left. A small smile crossed her face at how well he handled her. It almost made her forget about what he had done to her so long ago.  
  
"Dofrin (some sort of swear, like bastard)," she muttered before turning to leave.  
  
"Are you having second thoughts Aeris?" Quetzalcoatl asked her.  
  
"I didn't know you were there."  
  
"Still in love with him I see, yet you just can't forget what he did."  
  
"Shut up, my feelings are none of your business," she retorted and began to fly off, just to see him blocking her path again.  
  
"They are my business if they ruin this for us," the god hissed at her.  
  
"You're just cranky because you can't get through the barrier he set up."  
  
"You can't get through either."  
  
"Actually, I can, but that doesn't mean I'm going through."  
  
"I should kill you just for that."  
  
"But you won't, because, let's face it, you need me for this to work. I'm an indispensable asset to your plan," she laughed a little. "Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to find something to eat."  
  
And so she left, leaving Quetzalcoatl to look down at the house that glowed with the barrier placed on it.  
  
"Damn you Kukulkan, mark my words, you'll be spending the next three- thousand years in that gods-forsaken abyss."  
  
'Not likely little brother,' Kukulkan's voice entered his mind.  
  
"We were born at the same time, how dare you call me 'little'."  
  
'What's wrong, little brother, can't face the truth?'  
  
"Come up here and say that, Kul, you'll be unpleasantly surprised at how much stronger I am."  
  
"Okay."  
  
Quetzalcoatl turned around, and there, in all his glory, was Nate, floating level with the other god. He moved back quickly and prepared to fight.  
  
"So, little brother, are you still afraid of me like you were so long ago."  
  
"I was never afraid of you."  
  
"Right, of course you weren't. So, it wasn't fear that drove you to hide when I came looking for you?"  
  
"I wanted the element of surprise."  
  
Nate's head cocked to the left and a small smile rested on his lips. Quetzalcoatl was in no such mood for his brother's antics, this time he would be victorious, and Kukulkan would be the one to be sealed away. So, without much warning, he charged forward. His hand stretched out, and was about to hit Nate's face, but all it hit was air. It hadn't missed Nate's face either, it had gone straight through it.  
  
"A mental projection?"  
  
"Exactly you fool, I have someone to look after, so I think I'll take my leave of you now," Nate said and vanished.  
  
Quetzalcoatl let out a breath he had been holding for the last few seconds. He was thoroughly glad that his brother had always been one to stay and play with the children while he had been training to kill him.  
  
"He could have beat me right here and now, good thing he's too sentimental," he said to himself as he glared at the house below him. 'All I have to do is take his pike, and then he won't have a prayer.'  
  
*****  
  
Over the next few days people in Middleton continued disappearing, and no one had any ideas as to what might have happened to them. Nate knew, but he wasn't going to tell anyone, not even Bonnie. But this little bit here is not about Nate, this is about Kim. She laid on her bed, reading quietly, when the phone next to her rang. This phone was on her own line, so as to not hinder an important call to her parents.  
  
"Hello?" she answered.  
  
"Hey Kim," it was Ron's voice.  
  
"Hey Ron, how's Bermuda?" she asked happy to hear her best friend's voice.  
  
"It's great, the sand is warm, the water is warmer, and the view is incredible."  
  
"How's Tara?"  
  
"She's fine, she's in the shower right now."  
  
"I'm still surprised both of your parents actually agreed to let you sleep in the same room," Kim said with a slight giggle.  
  
"Same room, but, sadly, separate beds," Ron laughed.  
  
It felt good to Kim to hear him laugh, she hadn't head from him since summer vacation had started.  
  
"Well, I'm sure it's for your own good. So, how much loner are you guys gonna be there?"  
  
"About a week, give or take. How's everything on your end?"  
  
"Not so good."  
  
"Why, what's wrong?"  
  
"People are disappearing, Ron, in the past ten days over twenty people have vanished without a trace. Not to mention that some really evil people broke out of the abyss Nate had told us about."  
  
"That can't be good, but we're here for another week, whether we like it or not. But don't woory, I'm sure you'll be able to handle it."  
  
"Thanks for the vote of confidence."  
  
"Anytime. Hey, I gotta hang up now, don't want your phone bill getting too high."  
  
"Kay, bye Ron, see you later."  
  
She hung up the phone and picked her book up.  
  
*****  
  
Bonnie quickly raised the wooden practice sword that Nate had given her, making ready to block his next strike. His sword stopped an inch before touching hers, then shifted its position to knock her sword aside. In a flash the tip of his wooden sword was at her throat.  
  
"You're too tense," he said relaxing his stance.  
  
"You're moving too fast," she countered.  
  
"That's is no excuse, you'll just have to become faster. I told I'm not going to go easy on you."  
  
"We've been at this for an hour, can't we take a break."  
  
In response Nate hit her lightly on the right side of her head, her left arm, then tripped her right leg.  
  
"Does that answer your question?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
She got up and walked a little ways away, then turned to take a stance.  
  
"Not bad, but your left side is still open," he said and swung the sword around a bit. "Now remember, it's all in the hips."  
  
"Right."  
  
The park had a fair number of people at this time of day, several of them were parents who had brought their children to play. Among the children on the playground was Sarah, always where Nate could see. He had taken up the responsibility to look after her, and with Aeris and Quetzalcoatl free, she was sure to be the first target.  
  
"Come on, I'll let you have the first move here," he held the sword straight out in front of him, in a defensive stance.  
  
"Alright, here I come," she ran forward, sword raised over her head.  
  
She swung the sword down and Nate turned the sword at a ninety-degree angle, so the pommel was straight up and the blade pointed straight down. Bonnie's strike was true to its mark, and struck right in the center of the pommel, bouncing it back up, and catching her off guard. Nate then whipped the blunt side of the sword towards her leg, and, being very careful to hold back enough strength to not break her leg, tripped her. She landed square on her ass and stayed where she was.  
  
"Can we stop now?" she whined.  
  
"All that cheerleading and you can't handle an hour of swordplay, remind me again why you want to join," he said holding out his hand to help her up.  
  
"Because, I wanted to be closer to you," she said somewhat reluctantly.  
  
"I see, well, I suppose we can quit for today."  
  
They walked over to a bench that gave them a good view of the playground and sat down. Bonnie looked down at the ground, feeling somewhat sorry that she couldn't figure out something that always looked so easy. She had no idea just how complicated all of the moves were, but she was going to give it her best shot.  
  
"Bonnie?"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"I know how hard this must be for you, having come into this years later than most of the assassins I know. But, believe me when I say this, just over the past few days you've made a lot of progress," he said in a comforting tone, placing his arm around her.  
  
His gaze shifted from her, to where Sarah was playing tag with some of the other children. She looked so happy and carefree; it was hard for him to believe that he was once like that. He was glad that they had come here, since, with all the other people around, it would be very hard for Aeris to grab her.  
  
'Aeris,' the thought made him remember what she had done.  
  
Aeris had been sealed in the abyss for a crime most foul. She had been stealing souls to keep herself on this plain of existence. But that wasn't all, she had been using the souls to take on the form of that person, with which she could go just about anywhere, unnoticed and unstopped. While doing this, she had come into the most sacred part of Kukulkan's temple, and seen something she really shouldn't have. She had seen Kukulkan change from his dragon form to his human form (which looks surprisingly like Nate, just so you know), something even his priests weren't allowed to see.  
  
-----  
  
Aeris watched from the other side of the park, her eyes trained on Sarah as she ran around. She remembered the day when she had committed her crime.  
  
*~*~*  
  
Aeris, in the form of one of the woman she had seen going in and out of the temple, walked confidently through its hallowed halls. She looked around herself at the massive murals that spanned entire corridors, murals of an ongoing war between two serpents, one green, one white. The people who passed her never even glanced at her, it seems she had chosen just the right soul to consume.  
  
"I've never gone this far in without being stopped before, maybe I'll find something good to steal," she pondered as she continued walking.  
  
She stopped, though, when she saw twin tails snake their way around a corner. This had not been the first time she saw them, since almost everyone in the village below had seen Kukulkan at least once. The thought of what he could be doing this deep in his own temple intrigued her to no end.  
  
'Maybe, just a peak,' she thought as she looked around that corner at something she really, really didn't expect.  
  
The giant serpent was shrinking, the tail was already almost half gone. His face was beginning to flatten, and the spikes and feathers on his head were turning into hair. The great wings, which were already folded tight to his back to let him move through the halls, dispersing into nothing. His arms and legs became more and more human, thought the hands never lost their scales, or claws. The entire experience appeared to the most painful thing anyone, human or god, could ever go through.  
  
Within a few minutes she was looking at Kul (Kukulkan's human form), nude, from the back. She watched as he walked to an altar and picked up a robe, which he tied around his waist. When that was done he grabbed few necklaces, and slipped them over his head. These necklaces were wide, and multicolored, covering almost the entire width of his shoulders. He then reached up and pulled his long hair out from under the necklace, letting it go to flow down his back.  
  
"Who's there?" he asked and turned around to see Aeris standing there, not daring to make a move. "Choi, when did you get here?"  
  
"Just now, Sir," she said meekly.  
  
"Well, what is it you want?"  
  
"I...um...I got lost," she quickly replied.  
  
"Yes, it is easy to lose one's way in this place," he said looking intently at her as he walked closer. "Now, go about your business."  
  
"Yes, Sir," she bowed and left. 'That was close, I guess he trusts this person over all the others.'  
  
*~*~*  
  
It was also that day she had fallen for him. Up until then she had seen his human form, but never recognized him, thinking him only to be a priest. Now that she had seen him change, she knew his secret, she knew how he was able to walk inconspicuously amongst the people. She had become a security risk.  
  
"I know that you had to do what you had to do, but I wish you would have let me explain," she whispered to herself.  
  
TBC  
  
There, second chapter is done, sorry it took so long. I'm hoping for more reviews this time, only got two for the last one. Though I suppose I should count those from the first version of it. Anyway, keep an eye out for the next chapter, it should be up within the next week. I have many stories that have been put on hold to write this, and some of my other readers are getting anxious. Please understand if a few of the chapters take longer that you think they should, it is only because I am working on other things. That, and I have a shit-load of school work. 


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Kim Possible  
  
Okay, I see you all liked the last chapter; that's good. What makes me all the happier is that Shego2Drakken likes this story better than the last; that is not meant to be sarcastic, it shows I'm improving. Being one of my toughest critics, I'm glad she approves. Anyway, I realize that Aeris background is still a mystery, but if I told you everything right away, where would the suspense be? Besides, most series on TV always have the characters talking, or remembering something, that no one in the audience understands, until they explain it later on. Trust me on this.  
  
*~* flashback  
  
*~*~* dreamscape  
  
The Assassin: Nemesis  
  
Chapter 3  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~*~*  
  
"So, he cares for this person more than anything?" Quetzalcoatl asked Aeris.  
  
"Seems that way," she said pouring herself a drink. "He protects her, they are always together."  
  
"Except when they sleep," the god said thinking out loud. "That is when we should take her. What did you say her name was again?"  
  
"Bonnie."  
  
"Such a crude name."  
  
"Yes."  
  
-----  
  
At the moment, the person in question was walking to her summer job, at her mother's flower shop. Bonnie still hated her mother, but this was her only source of income, and with things to pay for, such as car insurance, it was a lifesaver. She sighed when she reached it, and saw her mother behind the counter. Who she saw in front of the counter surprised her slightly. Shego stood in front of the counter, reaching into her wallet to get some money. Taking a deep breath she pushed the door open and stepped inside.  
  
"I'm here," she said.  
  
"Oh, hi Bonnie," Shego turned to look at her. "I didn't know you worked here."  
  
"Well, I do."  
  
"Bonbon, please, don't be so rude to the customers," her mother scolded. "Samantha and I were just talking about her brother, why haven't you invited him over for dinner?"  
  
"Mo-om, can we not talk about this now?" she whined.  
  
"What, all I want to know is why I haven't met him."  
  
'There are several reasons,' Bonnie thought.  
  
Shego picked up on this and said, "I'll talk to him for you, Miss Rockwaller, but I can't make any promises."  
  
"Thank you, Samantha."  
  
-----  
  
"Sarah, time for your bath," Nate said walking into the living room. "Where is she?"  
  
He walked through the house, looking in each room as he went. As he searched for her, he wondered if it was right to ask Shego to get him some flowers to give to Bonnie. Having no eye for such things, it would have been a disaster had he gone, plus he really didn't feel like meeting Bonnie's mother. Sure they had been going out for a while, almost seven months, but he still didn't want to meet her. From the vibes Bonnie had been giving off when she spoke of her, it didn't help matters much.  
  
"We have plenty of time for games Sarah, but now is not the right time," he called out. 'Man, I should kill them just for leaving her here, but I'll leave them to Jinai.'  
  
He opened his door, and looked around the room, seeing nothing he decided to look deeper. There she was, under the bed, one of her favorite hiding spots. Walking forward, hearing her catch a breath and hold it, he grabbed the foot of the bed and lifted it right up.  
  
"Found you, now come on, it's not gonna be that bad," he reached with the other hand to pick her up. "I promise Sam didn't use all the hot water this morning."  
  
"O-okay," she slowly crept out from under the bed.  
  
"I know, I know, there's nothing worse than a cold shower or bath, but when you live with her, it's inevitable."  
  
*****  
  
Aeris and Quetzalcoatl walked down the halls of the Dark Council's HQ, having gotten a call to come. They both had a feeling that this was something that wasn't too important, but it gave them something to do. Upon entering the room, they saw an estra figure standing off to the side, a the handle of a sword could be seen poking up over his shoulder, his eyes giving off a blue glow.  
  
'Great, this is just what we need,' Aeris thought with a sigh, 'someone else to look over our shoulders.'  
  
"Quetzalcoatl, we feel you are moving too slow with your assignment," the center figure said.  
  
"Your point?"  
  
"We have decided to give you some help, our top operatives," he said gesturing to the figure in the corner. "This is Chaos, he's our best."  
  
"I still don't see your point. Why should we need any help from you, or this weakling over here?" Quetzalcoatl jerked his thumb at Chaos, whose eyes seemed to flare a little at that remark.  
  
"Be careful who your pointing that at," Chaos said as he stepped forward.  
  
"Looks to me like it's right where it should be, don't you think so Aeris?"  
  
"I don't know and have no opinion," she said with a slightly amused smile on her face. 'But if he's supposed to do as we say, he might actually come in handy.'  
  
'You're right about that, he could be useful,' he thought back. "Fine, we'll accept this small bit of help, just because we're obligated to under our contract."  
  
"Good, we're glad you agree," the one to the far right said.  
  
*****  
  
"I'm not going," Nate said as he pulled the flour from the cabinet.  
  
"Why not?" Shego asked from the table.  
  
"Because, I have to make dinner here," he fished out a measuring cup and scooped out the flour. 'One cup, two cups, two and a half cups.'  
  
"Oh please, anyone could make pizza."  
  
"That last time I let you cook, you burned everything, and we ended up getting take out."  
  
"Come on."  
  
"Sam, no, I will not go over there," he grabbed the yeast from the fridge and measured out two teaspoons.  
  
"Again, why not?"  
  
"Too many memories."  
  
"Of what?"  
  
"Of what happened to her when she was younger. I've been there once before, and I don't care to go again."  
  
He then popped the vat in the breadmaker and set it to make the dough. In quick, fluid motions he reached into the cabinet, pulled out a glass, and turned on the faucet.  
  
"What happened to her?"  
  
"I...can't tell you, I promised."  
  
"I understand."  
  
"Go ask Sarah what she wants on her pizza."  
  
"Okay."  
  
He downed the glass of water in one gulp, and placed the glass in the sink. After that, he sat at the table, and picked up the paper, seeing that another two people had gone missing. The problem with them no longer having their souls was that he could no longer sense where they were, plus, if he suddenly found them, he would be blamed for it. That was usually the way things would go in times of paranoia.  
  
"Pepperoni and extra cheese," Shego said as she entered the kitchen.  
  
"And you?"  
  
"Pepperoni, extra cheese, mushrooms, peppers, bacon, sausage, onions and some garlic," she ticked off each of the toppings on her fingers.  
  
"We're out of onions, mushrooms and bacon."  
  
"Whatever, the usual I guess."  
  
"Right. I gotta call Bonnie," he picked up the phone and was about to dial when it rang. "Hello?"  
  
"Nate, how are you, how's everything going?" Erica's voice floated in through the receiver.  
  
"Hey Mom, everything is fine," he said.  
  
"Really, you don't sound fine, are you sick?"  
  
"No, just a little stressed, that's all."  
  
"Okay, is Sam there?"  
  
"Yeah, here," he handed the phone to Shego, who grabbed it and started talking.  
  
*****  
  
Late that night, at the Rockwaller residence, a figure floated outside of Bonnie's window, in the pouring rain, watching her. The rain stopped just above her head, sliding down the side of an invisible shield. Aeris quickly passed through the wall, and extended her nails. She jumped on the figure in the bed, ripping tearing, slicing at anything she could get her hands on. Once there was nothing left she realized all she'd sliced were a bunch of pillows.  
  
"DAMMIT!" she screamed throwing a shredded pillow at the wall.  
  
"Is someone in there?" Mrs. Rockwaller asked as she opened the door.  
  
Aeris lunged at her from the bed, wrapping one, clawed hand around her throat, the other poised, ready to be jammed into the woman's skull.  
  
"Where is she?" she asked through gritted teeth, her bright red eyes flaring.  
  
"W-where is wh-who?" Mrs. Rockwaller stammered.  
  
"There is no use playing dumb, but if you insist, there are other ways of getting my answer," her eyes narrowed as her poised hand was pressed against the younger (but older looking) woman's head. The next moment it passed through her head, and slipped out the other side. Mrs. Rockwaller fell to the floor, dead. "That's where she is."  
  
*****  
  
"Well, that isn't good," Nate said as he looked at the scales, which dipped just a little bit more. 'Chaos must have come back, why can't they ever just stay dead.'  
  
Three knocks to the door snapped him out of his reverie, and he went to open the door. Opening it, he saw Bonnie standing there, soaked from the rain.  
  
"What the hell are you doing here?" he asked grabbing his trench coat off the rack and throwing it over her.  
  
"I had a bad feeling," she said and stepped inside, walking to the couch.  
  
"Suun sereniad," Nate waved his hand at the door.  
  
"What was that?"  
  
"Just in case you were followed," he jumped over the back of the couch to land next to her. "It's an old spell, but still quite effective. Evil can't enter unless it's invited."  
  
"Thank you."  
  
"No problem."  
  
"Nate?" she asked leaning against him.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"I'm glad you didn't come tonight."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Mother was in one of her more bitchy moods," she said with such distaste that Nate felt his mouth go dry. "She just kept going on and on about how I'm a failure."  
  
"Drunk?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Well, I suppose we'll just have to go there tomorrow and talk to her," his ear nearest to the door quirked as he heard a motorcycle pull up. 'Dammit, why now?'  
  
"What was that?"  
  
"I'll be right back," he said getting up and looking out the window on his way to the door. "Stay here."  
  
"Kay."  
  
He got the door and opened it, making sure he had his pike firmly grasped in his hand. He had something new to show Chaos, and he was sure that the assassin would be not so pleasantly surprised. The rain poured down, but he could clearly see the headlight of the black motorcycle.  
  
"So, we meet again," Chaos said swinging his leg over the seat.  
  
"Can we just get this over with?" he asked swinging the shortened pike out in front of him, but a different transformation took place. Instead of the pole extending, the blade began to extend, three, four, five feet long, while the handle grew another six inches.  
  
"Swords it is," the dark assassin grinned and pulled his out. "Just for the record, I won't fall for that same trick twice."  
  
"We shall see."  
  
Chaos, instead of charging, jumped back on his bike and revved it up. He turned it straight at Nate, and took off, holding his sword out in front like a lance. Nate saw what he was doing, and knew what to do about it.  
  
'The young ones are always so predictable,' he thought as the bike sped towards him.  
  
At the last second he rolled to the side, and swung his sword out, slicing the motorcycle right down the side, and taking off Chaos' lower legs in the process. Yeah, I know, kinda like when Morpheus sliced the SUV down the side, but believe me, I was planning this long before I saw the movie. The blue-eyed terror swore and pushed himself off the bike before it could crash. When he landed on the wet pavement, his legs grew back, pants and all.  
  
"Whoops," Nate said shrugging.  
  
"I liked that bike," he said through his teeth.  
  
"Boohoo for you."  
  
'Well, he seems to have improved,' Chaos thought.  
  
"Hey Chaos, how do you feel about Tartarus, think it's nice this time of year?"  
  
"What, what do you mean, what's Tartarus?"  
  
"The pit of lost souls, didn't Cheron tell you that much?"  
  
"You mean the ferry boat driver?"  
  
"Who else crosses the river Styx?"  
  
"Uh."  
  
Nate put his head in his hand, for someone who had been wandering the banks of Styx for gods know how many times, he sure knew very little.  
  
"Forget it, you'll find out when you die."  
  
"But I'll just come back."  
  
"Not when I'm through with you."  
  
"Would you look at the time, I gotta go," Chaos said looking at his watch, and then vanished.  
  
"Good riddance," Nate turned and walked back to the house.  
  
*****  
  
"I take it you both failed?" Quetzalcoatl asked the two standing before him. "Never send a boy to do a god's work."  
  
Chaos stared back at this person who claimed to be a god, but all he had was a pair of wings. Who was this person to go around saying that he was a god, when his energy was so low a baby could have beaten him.  
  
"The girl should have been easy prey for you, Aeris, what went wrong?" he stepped up to the jet black girl, staring her right in the eye.  
  
"He must have warned her, it is the only way she could have been prepared," she said looking away.  
  
"And you, what's your excuse?" his feral eyes turned to Chaos now.  
  
"Why the hell should I tell-" he didn't get very far in his threat as Quetzalcoatl latched his, now dragon, hand around the assassin's throat and lifted him off the ground.  
  
"I will not have someone whose energy could barely fill a thimble think that he has the balls to presume to speak back to me with such an indignant tone," he hissed and then threw Chaos aside, and through a wall.  
  
'Who are these people?' Chaos thought as he stepped through the hole, the puncture wounds in his neck, from the spiked scales on Quetzalcoatl's hand, sealed up. 'I'm probably gonna need some help on this. Good thing I have my own group to order around.'  
  
"Now we know that the girl is at his home, and she is still our main target, mind you," Quetzalcoatl said. "Aeris, I already know that you can move through the shield, and Chaos can easily keep Kul occupied. You grab her, sedate her, and bring her here, then we will proceed with the plan."  
  
"Right," she said and looked over at Chaos. "Think you can handle that?"  
  
"Yeah, yeah, just make sure you don't screw it up," he retorted.  
  
Aeris threw her head back as trills of laughter sprang from her throat.  
  
"Me...screw this up," she said between fits of laughter. "You crack me up, kid."  
  
"Who are you callin' a 'kid,' you're not much older than me," he stepped past her.  
  
"I'm about fife-thousand years older than you," she placed her hand on his shoulder, and pushed by him.  
  
'Somehow, I don't think they're getting along,' Quetzalcoatl thought with a smile as he sat down. 'Oh well, it doesn't matter.'  
  
*****  
  
Morning came and light shone down through the window, right on Nate's face. Not being one to sleep with a light on, his eyes slowly opened. Memories of the previous night floated into his mind, what he'd done, and what he'd done after that. There was a weight on his chest, and, after moving the green trench coat, he saw Bonnie's head nestled against him.  
  
"Her mother," he said looking at the sleeping girl on top of him, "she's dead."  
  
Being sure to be gentle and not wake her, he lifted her off him and turned so he was sitting on the couch. He looked at the floor and saw that his pants and tank top had been discarded during the night, and he was clad only in his boxers, his heavily scarred body was revealed. Bonnie stirred, making slight sounds of frustration as her arms seemed to be trying to fend off something.  
  
"Her memories," his hand slowly wandered onto her forehead. "I know she told me specifically not to look."  
  
"Then you shouldn't," Shego said coming down the stairs, but stopped when she saw the condition he was in. "Rough night?"  
  
"You could say that," he turned to look at her.  
  
"Aeris?"  
  
"No, someone we haven't seen in a long time."  
  
"You mean Chaos?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"You kill 'em?"  
  
"No, he got away."  
  
"It's not like you to let a target get away."  
  
"I do if I know they're coming back. And let's face it, Chaos is basically a boomerang between life and death, he'll just keep coming back. Unless..." his eyes opened wide in realization. "I know where I can find the answers."  
  
"Where?"  
  
"I'll be back," he grabbed his pants and started to pull them on. "Tell her I went to find some answers. No 'playing' with her while she's asleep."  
  
"Aw, you always have to ruin my fun," she crossed her arms and pouted.  
  
"Just call Kim, I'm sure she's just as horny as you," he picked up his tank and threw it over his head then went for his boots.  
  
"You're right, I'm gonna do that right now," she went to the kitchen for the phone.  
  
'I can't ask Wade, he wouldn't know, Rinon might know, but she's unreachable at the moment. I'll just ask Aki, she'll know for sure,' he thought as he grabbed the two large shotels from their stand. 'It's either that, or try to beat it out of his friends.'  
  
"Where are you going?" Shego asked as he turned the doorknob.  
  
"Aki's, I'll be home by noon."  
  
TBC  
  
There we go, third chapter all done. I hope Chaos doesn't mind my making Quetzalcoatl and Aeris act like that towards him. You must see how people who are used to having no help react to having someone placed with them, against their will no less. Especially when it's someone less qualified for the job. But ignore that last sentence, just ranting over a project I have to do with the class idiot. Anywho, it'll all be over in a few days. I have a different method of killing Chaos in mind, none of that live by the sword, die by the sword. It all has to do with a little...shit, I shouldn't be telling you this. Forget that last sentence. That's all for now, see you all real soon. 


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Kim Possible.  
  
Okay, last chapter ended on a bit of an odd note, not quite a cliffhanger, but at the same time, not quite normal. Who is this person Nate is going to going to for answers? How do they know how to kill Chaos? Why do they know? Why do we have to wait so long for The Matrix: Revolutions? All these questions, and maybe some others might be answered in this chapter. As well as some well-placed plot devices, you know, just to spice things up. No to mention understatements galore.  
  
*~* flashback  
  
*~*~* dreamscape  
  
The Assassin: Nemesis  
  
Chapter 4  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~*~*  
  
Nate walked back in through the door, suddenly remembering that his hair was completely unkempt, and that he needed to take Sarah with him. She would be safe at Aki's. He was also going to place Bonnie in his bed and take his trench coat. After putting Bonnie in his room he walked into Sarah's room, and found her asleep.  
  
"Sarah, time to wake up," he said softly. "Come on, we're gonna go visit Aki."  
  
"Really?" she asked practically leaping out of bed.  
  
He chuckled as he lifted her out of bed, setting her on the floor.  
  
"Yes, really, now go pack your stuff."  
  
"Is Bonnie coming?"  
  
"Nope, just you and me."  
  
Upon hearing that she practically flew to pack her stuff. Nate had found out not too long ago that Sarah didn't like to be around Bonnie too much. He didn't bother to ask, since she would just say because. The answer to almost any question possible, so it would do him no good to ask. While he was thinking back, Sarah jumped on him from behind.  
  
"Piggyback, piggyback, piggyback!" she chanted over and over.  
  
"Okay, now let's go," he grasped the bag she had packed and went down the stairs.  
  
When he went through the kitchen to get to the backyard, he saw Shego on the phone, obviously having fun (guess what kind of fun that is).  
  
"I'm taking Sarah with me, take care of Bonnie," he said and went out the door.  
  
"Right, yeah, got it," she said not really paying attention. "Now, where were we?"  
  
Once outside, Nate checked over either fence to make sure no one was looking.  
  
"How we gonna get there?" Sarah asked with a look of pure innocence.  
  
"You'll see."  
  
The black wings spread from his back and encircled the two of them. Sarah gazed at the feathered limbs with the expression of curiosity. She wanted to reach out and touch them, but held her hand back because she thought Nate might get mad. Her eyes remained forward, concentrating as hard as she could on Nate, and not on his wings. The wings glowed momentarily; blinding the child and making her shield her eyes.  
  
*****  
  
When the glow faded, the wings unwrapped and they were standing in the middle of a large snowfield. Taking a look around them Sarah saw mountains surrounding them on all sides. She knew where Aki and Lin lived, in an old monastery high in the Himalayas. Lin is pretty much Aki's...um...significant other, yeah, that's what she is (I gotta stop listening to my girlfriend, or else this whole fic will be full of lesbians).  
  
"There it is," he pointed across the vast space between where they were and the large temple built into the adjacent mountain.  
  
There was an old rope bridge that spanned the vast crevasse, which looked much too raggedy to hold them. Aki and Lin were both much lighter than he was, so to go across this thing once a week was really nothing to them. He placed one foot on the bridge and heard it creak in that unnerving way things like that creaked.  
  
"What the hell, you only live once," he said and, after picking up Sarah, proceeded across the bridge.  
  
Every step he took made the bridge creak more and more. At least there were no sounds of snapping ropes, for that he was grateful. If that happened then the two women would be stuck out at the monastery with no way out. He was not worried if he and Sarah dropped, it would be easy to catch her and fly. Each step they took would have to be just as careful as the last, if not more so.  
  
At last they reached the other side, and were at the door of the dwelling. Opening it, they found the air inside to be quite warm. The cold outside hadn't bothered Nate, but he could tell that Sarah was shivering, and this warmth was a very welcome change for her.  
  
"Nate, why didn't you call first?" a tall, Asian woman asked as she stepped through the door to the kitchen.  
  
"Sorry Lin, Sam was on the phone," he said walking over and giving her a quick hug.  
  
"Linny!' Sarah squealed and ran over to hug her leg tightly.  
  
"Well, hey there," she said lifting Sarah up. "My aren't you getting heavy, where are your parents, are they here too?"  
  
"No, they left her with me."  
  
"They're not supposed to, and they know it."  
  
"I know, I figure it's best to let Jinei handle 'em."  
  
"You're probably right, Grandpa'll straighten them out."  
  
"Where's Aki, I need to ask her something."  
  
"She's in the training room, I'll watch Sarah for you."  
  
"Thanks," he nodded and walked down the hall that was to his left.  
  
He heard Sarah laughing behind, it distracted him, giving the sword wielding blonde enough time to jump out of the room to his left. His eyes were always trained on her, though, and it made her seem to be in slow motion. As fast as he could, which is very fast, he pulled out the pike handle and stopped her blade with his.  
  
"Hello," he said with a smile.  
  
"Hello yourself," Aki pulled her sword away and sheathed it.  
  
"Do you always have to greet me with a sword?"  
  
"How would you have me greet you?"  
  
"Good question, but I have one for you."  
  
"What is it?" she asked with a hint of curiosity.  
  
"How do you kill an assassin that cannot die?"  
  
"You mean Chaos?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Follow me."  
  
He walked into the room and sat on the mat she pointed to. She sat on a mat about five feet to the left of him. In front of them was a large holoplatform (a round platform from which a 3-D image is projected between that and on above it), projecting an image of Chaos. Nate's face was indifferent, but Aki could sense the inner turmoil, his utter hatred of this person.  
  
"Chaos...is an anomalous signature in the grand scheme of the universe. He, instead of being brought to evil by gradual manipulation, was thrown into it in a blind fury that cost him his very soul. This is why he gives the appearance to be immortal," she explained as though she had known Chaos from day one. "To know how to stop him, is to know what drives him. Despite his being to incarnation of evil, there is still a shred of hope for him. To repent for what he has done, and to destroy the ones who had caused him to do it. Then there is this, right here."  
  
Aki stood and walked over to the projection, pointing at a small blinking dot, somewhere in Chaos's chest, in the right side. The projection disappeared to be replaced with a close up of his left pectoral area (left side of the chest). Nate could see an over-excessive amount of bone and muscle covering that side, front and back.  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"That I cannot tell you, because I do not know."  
  
"Well, Aki, thank you for this information, I need to be getting back now," he stood and bowed, she bowed back.  
  
"Going back to her, Kul?"  
  
"What?" he hissed as he whipped around.  
  
"She's in danger, you should be leaving right now, Kul," she said looking him straight in the eye. She saw his muscles tense, his wings twitch, his brow furrow, and even heard his teeth clench. "Well, what are you waiting for?"  
  
His wings circled around his body, constantly overlapping in a crisscross pattern. He stayed like that for a second, which was just long enough for him to say:  
  
"Take care of Sarah, I'll be back for her."  
  
With that he was gone, a flash of light engulfing the room. When it faded, she was left alone, with the sound of a child's laughter filtering in from the hall. Lin came in with Sarah on her shoulders, they were both laughing as the former spun around and around. They continued this till Aki decided to join in.  
  
*****  
  
Nate reappeared in the air above his street, there he saw the front of his house blown open, Shego unconscious on the asphalt, Chaos standing over her, and Aeris, with Bonnie in her arms, next to him. He cut off the energy beneath his wings and dropped, hitting the ground, hard. The tar cracked and split under him as he bent his legs and smashed the ground with his fist. His head bowed and his wings looked to have lost all bones that held them up, flowing around him like liquid. The pole was clenched in his other hand, half of it sticking up over his back, and other half, along with the blade, was under his wing.  
  
Slowly he stood, a look of pure malice upon his face, his eyes were completely black, the pupils having expanded to completely cover them. He looked at Chaos and saw, instead of a blazing blue aura, and thinning white one, while Aeris' looked completely refreshed, like she'd just eaten. His braid was hanging over his shoulder, and with a simple flick of his head, it was sent back over. The tips of his black feathers began to turn a very, very deep blood red. Two elongated canines overlapped his lip, and his grip on the pike tightened a little.  
  
"Well, we were wondering when you would show up," Chaos said with an air of superiority lacing his voice, as he kicked Shego.  
  
"Yeah, how unfortunate," he retorted. "I guess Shego gave you a run for your money for bit, seeing as how your energy is so low."  
  
"Actually, it's always like that," Aeris said, earning her a death glare from Chaos, and she turned away from them. "Now, if you boys will excuse me, I have a package to deliver."  
  
"I really doubt that you'll get two feet," Nate took a step forward, the road beneath him rippled and cracked.  
  
"In that case," she took one step, and promptly disappeared.  
  
"Well, that just leaves you and me," he turned his feral eyes on Chaos, who was looking a little worried, but still managed to put up a good front.  
  
"You're not worth my time," he said in a matter-of-factly tone of voice.  
  
"Is that so?" Nate asked as he moved instantly from his spot to directly in front of the dark assassin. "I would have to say it was the other way around. You should get out of this Chaos, there are forces at work here that are far above your human comprehension. Don't you think it would have been what Lisa would have wanted?"  
  
Chaos' eyes opened wide and he jumped back, grasping his sword. His eyes adopted the same feral glow that Nate's had, minus the whole massive pupil dilation. Nate finally saw the flaring aura he had wanted to, though, it still paled in comparison to his.  
  
"Don't you dare talk about her," Chaos hissed through gritted teeth.  
  
"Why, have you shut her out of your thoughts, sealed away her memory for all time?" Nate asked standing at ease now. "Because that is how long you have to live with her memory, all of eternity. You've barely made it through three years, how can you possibly hope to handle all that time?"  
  
"Stop, I don't want to hear ANYMORE!" Chaos yelled and charged at Nate, sword drawn and rage flaring in his eyes.  
  
Nate stepped to the side and stuck out the end of the pike, which Chaos tripped over, falling on his face. Within moments he was up, and charging again.  
  
"You have no right to talk about her!"  
  
"You have no right to even remember her!" Nate yelled and tripped his rival again.  
  
"How dare you!"  
  
"Chaos, it's time to come back," a hoarse voice whipped through the street as if upon a violent wind itself.  
  
"But..."  
  
"No 'buts', no retreat."  
  
"Fine," he sheathed his sword, but still his muscles were tensed, and the rage still flared. "You were lucky today Sindel, next time, you die."  
  
With that he was taken in much the same way as Aeris, a prompt disappearance that pretty much looked like he dropped off the face of the earth. Nate then ran over to Shego, and threw one of her arms over his shoulder, and hefted her to her feet. She coughed a little, and some blood came up, splattering on the ground, trickling down her chin. Her head turned and she looked up at him, his dilated pupils, the green aura surrounding them, the massive wings, which covered her partially exposed body where her clothes had ripped, the horns which were now growing from his head.  
  
"I'm sorry," she said as more blood came up. "I couldn't stop them."  
  
"It's okay, come on, you need to get to bed. We'll get her back, but not until you're healed. Family comes first," he said sounding like it was forced.  
  
"No, I can handle this myself, you follow them."  
  
"Would you just shut up and stop trying to be noble, what happened to the Shego I used to know. Besides, they won't harm her, she's too important, and killing her would get them no where."  
  
"I suppose."  
  
"Now, you need to get in the shower and wash this blood off, I take care of the house."  
  
Nate, still supporting Shego, brought her up the walkway and into the massive hole that used to be the front of the house, and up the stairs to the bathroom. After making sure she would be okay, he stepped outside and transformed his forearms and hands to their dragon form. Waving his hand over the debris, it began to rebuild everything the way it had been not too long ago. He then turned around and waved his hand over the street, erasing the minds of anyone who might have seen what just transpired.  
  
*****  
  
"In you go," Aeris said gleefully as she literally threw the Bonnie into a cell.  
  
As soon as she was around the next corner Quetzalcoatl decided to drop in. He stood outside the cell, looking down at the unconscious girl on the floor. His eyes slowly roamed up from her feet to her face, taking her in.  
  
"Now I understand what he sees in her," he said looking at her face more intently, searching her thoughts. "Her name may be crude, but for all essential purposes, she's quite beautiful."  
  
Stepping forward he slipped through the bars, and walked up to her. He knelt down and ran his hand through her, stopping when she stirred, continuing when she stopped. Finally he found what he was looking for, her memories of his brother. But when he was about to peer into them, the memories changed, to that of her father, of her childhood.  
  
"So, that is why she despised others for so long," he removed his hand, a smug, knowing smile on his face. "This is something she hasn't even told him about. Looks like I don't have to take her innocence, since it's already gone, this information is much better than that."  
  
He left much the same way he came, phasing through the bars then moving back down the hall. When he was gone Bonnie began to shiver with the memories that had resurfaced. Tears flowed freely down her cheeks as a torrent of emotions spilled over her, threatening to throw her over the edge.  
  
*****  
  
Nate slumped onto the couch, wishing he had gone to see Aki earlier, like the day before perhaps. That's what he was wishing, not thinking. He was thinking of how Chaos' mind seemed to open when he mentioned Lisa, like her very memory was important to him. It had happened as Aki had said it would, when Nate found out the cause of Chaos that he would find how to kill him, and now he knew. His search would start with that girl, the girl used as a pawn in their sick game.  
  
"He deserves to know," he said looking at the ceiling fan as it lazily turned round and round, "that his own comrades have been leading him on since that day."  
  
"Tell him, he deserves to be tortured that his little girlfriend was just a piece of meat," Shego said in complete disgust for the person in question. "He deserves to suffer."  
  
"He's suffered enough Sam."  
  
"No, he hasn't suffered nearly enough," she hissed as threads spread from her bracelets, forming her gloves.  
  
"There's the revenge-driven Shego I used to know," Nate smirked as he got up and walked over to his shotels. "Take these, they're made from dragon tusks, cut through anything."  
  
He tossed the massive swords over to her, which she grabbed and whipped around like an expert. The smirk he wore broadened when he saw that she had sliced a rather large hole in her favorite bathrobe. Finally he broke down and laughed his head off, as she pout at what she did.  
  
"I think I'll go get dressed now," she said and then turned, heading for the stairs.  
  
"You do that."  
  
*****  
  
Erica's footing faltered, having stepped on a rock, but to her it wasn't an accident.  
  
"Something isn't right, I can feel it," she said looking around the small Chinese village she was in. She spotted a small shrine to her right and walked towards it. There was definitely something amiss, she could tell, and it involved her children somehow.  
  
"What is it?" Matt asked her. Matt Sindel, he looks like a male Shego, what with the height, and the black hair and the deep, deep green eyes, but that was where their similarities ended. The broad shoulders and short- cropped hair were a dead giveaway to his gender. He wore a black tank top, and green baggy pants, pretty much the opposite of Nate (which was not only limited to their attire, they also had different opinions on other subjects).  
  
"There's something wrong back home," she answered looking up at the archway at the shrine entrance. "I'm not sure what it is, but they might need our help."  
  
"We're on vacation, I'm sure they can handle it," he protested.  
  
"You may be right, but I really don't want to take that chance," she turned around to glare at him. "You can stay here if you want, I'm going back."  
  
"Stubborn as a mule as usual," he sighed and shook his head.  
  
"Yup, that's why ya love me," she came back from the arch to stand next to him. "You know, we -are- on vacation, let's make the most of it. I've always wanted to see The Three Gorges Dam."  
  
"You haven't yet, it's really quite a sight," Matt looked happier that she had finally agreed with him, usually she stands on an issue and usually wins. "Let's go, it's getting dark, we can get there tomorrow."  
  
"Alright."  
  
And with that said they went back to the house they had rented for the summer.  
  
*****  
  
"Think Kim's okay?" Nate asked as Shego came back down the stairs.  
  
"Shit, I never thought of that," she said and raced to the phone, hit the speed dial, and waited for her to pick up.  
  
"Hello?" Kim asked.  
  
"Oh thank the gods, you're still alive," she said with a sigh of relief.  
  
"Well, yeah, why wouldn't I be?" the teenager asked with a bit of confusion woven into her voice.  
  
"They attacked here, and took Bonnie while Nate was gone."  
  
"Oh my God," Kim gasped.  
  
"I'll be heading up your way to pick you up, okay?"  
  
"Sure thing, get here quick."  
  
"Right, I'll see you in five."  
  
"I'll be waiting."  
  
They hung up at the same moment and Shego walked into the living room too see Nate standing and looking over the weaponry he had brought back with him in Chapter 1. There were so many types of swords and axes and pikes and polearms that she couldn't figure out what he was doing with them.  
  
"Nate?"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"You are going to save her, aren't you?"  
  
"If I can, but if it comes to a point where he decides to use her as a shield, then she will have to die," he replied coldly, as if Bonnie meant nothing to him at all. "There are ways to bring back the dead, Sam."  
  
He picked up one sword out of the bunch and held it up to the light. It's much too hard to describe this sword, though I honestly wish it were possible. I can tell you where you can find it, go to www.bladeclub.com, look up Molotoch, that is what this sword looks like (for legal reasons I must state that both the name Molotoch and sword design are © Kit Rae).  
  
"Does it involve a sacrifice?" she asked looking for her keys.  
  
"No, thankfully," he sheathed the pulsing sword and placed it back on the stand. "Your keys should be on the bookcase by the door."  
  
"Thanks."  
  
She grabbed the keys and slipped out the door.  
  
'Don't know why she didn't just ask me to get her,' he though and sat back down. The problem with not knowing where Quetzalcoatl was meant that he would have to wait to see what his brother would do, that is why he hasn't done anything.  
  
TBC  
  
There, it's finally done. This story's going to be shorter than the first one, only a couple more chapters, mainly because I'm running out of ideas for Kim Possible fics. After this one is done I might write another, probably a K/B, but until then I'll be working on my neglected stories. I'm sure you're all wondering how Aki knew how to kill Chaos, well she's the most psychically advanced member of the family, and lives where she does because to live in a crowded area would overload her mind and possibly kill her, too many thoughts to sort through. I put in the little scene with Nate's parents because I just realized that I never had Matt Sindel in the first story, so he's in this one. That's all for me, expect the next chapter sooner than this one, though, it might be a bit short, maybe only six pages on Microsoft word instead of my usual eight. Byebye, and don't forget to review. 


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own Kim Possible  
  
Well, here it is, it took me a while, but it's here, chapter number 5. I've been working on other stories, which is why I haven't gotten to this one yet, just in case you were wondering. Anywho, I hope you enjoyed the last chapter (this is for those of you who don't bother to review. The network at my house seems to have gone out the window, so I have to access my account from work, which is highly frowned upon, we aren't supposed to use the computers for personal use, but I say screw 'em, my readers come first. Almost got fired for saying that.  
  
{ } subconscious  
  
*~* flashback  
  
*~*~* dreamscape  
  
The Assassin: Nemesis  
  
Chapter 5  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~*~*  
  
Days passed by and there was no sign of any of the enemy. Nate was getting impatient; this was not the same Quetzalcoatl he had thrown into the abyss almost 4,000 years ago. His brother had apparently grown up from the cocky fool he had once been.  
  
"How could I have been so blind?" Nate said lifting his pike from its resting-place on the wall. "It wasn't supposed to happen like this."  
  
He paced around the living room, lifting up weapons as he went, and placing them back down. Over the few days that had gone by, he had polished, and repolished, all his weaponry. He had done this to take his mind off the fact that he had failed at his mission. Bonnie was gone, and he was to blame, if he had only been more mindful to their movements.  
  
"I should have known," he lifted his foot and thrust it at the couch, knocking it back to, and through, the wall behind it. "They knew they couldn't get Sarah, so they went for Bonnie."  
  
There was plenty he could have done, plenty he could have said, both in the past and in the present. But there was nothing he could do now to help her. He did know what Quetzalcoatl wanted, and vice versa. And there was no way that he would give it to him, but balance was not worth an innocent's life. He could never think to sacrificing her. But there was still he matter of the entire world being destroyed by his brother once he got the pike.  
  
"There has to be a way," he looked down at the pike, hoping it would give him some sort of answer. "Aeris could help, if she didn't hate me so much."  
  
*****  
  
"Come on," Aeris whined as she got to her knees, "please let me swallow her soul."  
  
"How many times do I have to tell you no?" Quetzalcoatl asked.  
  
"Um...four hundred," she said expectantly.  
  
The god sighed and looked back into the cell that held their captive. Bonnie was not at the bars cursing at them to let her out, she was huddled in the back corner, knees drawn up to her chest. Tears rolled down her cheeks as the memories continued to play and replay in her mind.  
  
"So when I reached the four-hundredth 'no', you'll stop asking?"  
  
"I guess."  
  
"Good, now, if you don't mind, get me the soul jar."  
  
"Of course," she bowed and promptly disappeared.  
  
She returned a few seconds later with a medium-sized urn, ordained with a white bird. Upon handing it to him, he stepped through the bars and over to Bonnie, who became silent as he approached. His face held no expression, unlike Aeris he did not enjoy doing this. He knelt down in front of her and peered at her face between her knees, then raised the urn, and whispered something unintelligible. Bonnie instantly fell silent, and her eyes adopted a blank, glazed over look. He pulled the urn away and placed the top on it, standing as he did so.  
  
"Her crying was getting on my nerves," he lifted the to jar eye level seeing that one of the bird's eyes were open.  
  
"You only took half her soul, why not take the whole thing?"  
  
"Because if I took all of it, then we wouldn't be able to use her," he said and turned around to face Bonnie. "Get up and come over here."  
  
Bonnie did as she was told, and walked over to the bars, her blank eyes focused on Quetzalcoatl, waiting. The slight smile on Aeris face broadened significantly as she realized what he had done. He hadn't taken her soul at all, but parts of her memory and personality instead, making her docile, and easily controlled.  
  
"Should I open the door?" Aeris asked hopefully.  
  
"Yes."  
  
She stepped around him, pulled out an old-looking key, and slipped it into the lock. There was a very audible squealing sound as she opened the door. Bonnie's head turned to look at the opening, then looked back and Quetzalcoatl, as if seeking permission, to which he nodded. She walked to the doorway and stepped through, turning to face him again.  
  
"My, aren't you the eager one?" Quetzalcoatl said with a small smirk. "Now kneel."  
  
*****  
  
"Chaos, say hello to Nox," the center figure said.  
  
From the shadows stepped a girl, a girl no older than sixteen. She was short, barely topping five feet at the most, and her jet-black hair fell almost to the floor. Raising her lowered head to look at Chaos, revealing that her eyes were as black as her hair. She wore an all black, all leather ensemble, with two Glock 17s on her hips, and what appeared to be a replica of a staff weapon used in Stargate (pretty good movie, I give it 7 out of 10 stars) in her hand. Her body, though not quite as curved as most girls, it was still a pleasure to look at.  
  
"Hello," he said bluntly.  
  
She just smiled a small smile and shifted her staff to her other hand, her left hand. Her right hand extended out to him, and he shook it, feeling a slight bit of irritation on his palm. Taking his hand back he looked at her palm, which seemed to be covered with small spikes, that curved back towards her wrist, almost like shark skin, smooth one way, but sandpaper the other.  
  
The shadowed figure continued, saying, "I'm sure she'll be very helpful to you."  
  
As Chaos watched, the tiny spikes receded back into her hand, and her smile widened.  
  
"Doesn't talk much," he commented turning from her to look at the person concealed in darkness. 'If I didn't know better I'd say she was flirting with me.'  
  
"I do talk, but only when I have something to say," her voice floated into the air like the gentlest of music, but under that music was the cutting edge of a knife.  
  
"Well, if that's all, I'll be going now," he turned and headed for the door, hearing footsteps fall in behind his own.  
  
*****  
  
"It could work, but there's no guarantee," Nate said holding the pike at arms' length.  
  
He had almost forgot what his father once told him about the weapons he had chosen to use. The weapon is only as powerful as its wielder, and a gun is stronger than the wielder. It made perfect sense, no matter how much power Nate or Kul expended the pike always channeled enough energy to make the attack stronger. So if he could send too much power to the pike at one time, it might overload it, and short it out temporarily. There was no denying it, Quetzalcoatl, god he may be, still paled in comparison to Kukulkan in terms of power. The outcome of their fight would be the same with or without the pike.  
  
"He doesn't know about this," Nate said with a wide smile on his face, "so I think I will give it too him, but I better do a good job of acting."  
  
He slowly turned when the front door opened and Kim walked in. She had been staying at their house due to the fact that there was no guarantee of her safety at home.  
  
"Any ideas?" she asked.  
  
"No."  
  
"Oh...is Shego home?"  
  
"Upstairs."  
  
"Thanks."  
  
A smile crept across his face when he saw her retreating back, all he had to do was play innocent, since their minds were much easier to tap into than his, they could not know. But now was not the time to be thinking of such things, as a rather black power had just appeared in his backyard. He ran to the backdoor, opened it, and there, sitting on one of the swings on the old swing set, was a jet black young woman.  
  
"Hello Kul, how's every little thing?" she asked in a bit of a sultry voice.  
  
"Everything is just peachy," he said through his teeth, stepping out and shutting the door. "What do you want Aeris?"  
  
"Nothing really, we just never got a chance to catch up the other day," she patted the seat of the swing next to her, "what with the fighting and all."  
  
He sat on the swing, reluctantly I might add, and braced his feet lightly against the ground.  
  
"Where is she?"  
  
"Can we not talk about the present, the past is much more interesting than this," she said and pushed with her feet to get some momentum. "Remember the good times we had together?"  
  
"You mean the time I caught you trying to steal from my temple?" he asked her. "Or that I let you go with a warning?"  
  
"But wasn't it that warning that brought us closer?" she asked swinging side to side, to get closer to him.  
  
"Not close enough Aeris, you know that," he tilted his head down to look at his boots.  
  
"Do you regret not punishing me the moment you caught me?"  
  
"No, I've never regretted or had a second thought about anything," he tilted himself back this time, his braid brushing the dust beneath him, "ever."  
  
"I've had plenty of second thoughts, about a lot of things," she tilted herself to match his position. "Mainly about taking that girl's soul."  
  
"Her name was Loni, and if you hadn't, we wouldn't be here right now," he let go of the chains holding the swing to the bar above and placed his hands on the ground, "and our histories would have been changed drastically."  
  
Using the new position of his hands he brought himself into a handstand, and then brought his legs down in front of him and placed them on ground, standing.  
  
"Have you ever wondered what things would be like if I hadn't done it?" she asked.  
  
"Everyday," he stepped back into the swing and decided to change the subject. "Aeris, if you can't tell me where she is, what has he done to her?"  
  
"We haven't harmed her, if that's what you're wondering."  
  
With a slight sigh of relief he stood up and looked down at her. For those few minutes he had let it slide that she was the enemy, since she really didn't want to harm him. Given that she was still mad at him, it never really affected her actions.  
  
"Tell Quetzalcoatl that he can have the pike, I just want her back, body and mind," he said after probing her surface thoughts.  
  
"You know...?"  
  
"Yes, I know, you never could hide things from me."  
  
"No, I couldn't."  
  
*****  
  
"So, he's really going to give up the pike, just like that?" Quetzalcoatl asked upon her return.  
  
"Yes," Aeris said from where she was leaning against the wall. "In exchange for the girl, of course."  
  
"So, I guess the only thing left to decide is who gets to kill him," Chaos suggested with a devilish smirk.  
  
"You two decide, I want no part of it," she turned and headed for the door.  
  
As the door slid shut behind her, she could hear the two of them arguing over which deserved it more. Looking to her left she saw that girl, standing off to the side, as if at attention. After hearing how his voice sounded when he spoke to her, she understood why he would care for such a creature, but still couldn't figure out why he never cared for her that way.  
  
"Come on, let's get you cleaned up," she said grabbing Bonnie's arm. "Neither of us has had a descent bath in a few days."  
  
The blank-eyed girl simply nodded and followed her.  
  
*****  
  
The next day at noon found the three of them, Nate, Kim and Shego, at the airport, awaiting the arrival of the plane from Bermuda (yes, I realize that I said a week, and it's only been a few days, let's just say they came back early). Nate stood behind the other two, green trench coat draped over his shoulders. Shego seemed to be sporting the all-leather suit at the moment, green leather jacket, and tight, black leather pants, with a pair of sunglasses completing it. Kim was wearing what she usually wore.  
  
"Oh yeah, Sam, real inconspicuous," Nate whispered fiddling with the leather straps on his left arm.  
  
"What, it wasn't my idea to go incognito," she retorted, also in a whisper.  
  
Both shot a little glare Kim, who was twirling her hair around her finger in a nervous manner.  
  
"We're supposed to blend in Kim, not stick out like a sore thumb," he whispered in the redhead's ear. "I'm getting tired of people staring at me."  
  
"Like it hasn't happened before," Kim scoffed back.  
  
"Not at this scale."  
  
"Just deal with it, Nate, I am," Shego lightly chuckled.  
  
"That's their plane," Nate said pointing out the window.  
  
"How can you tell?" Kim asked.  
  
He just gave her one of those 'are you an idiot' looks. She just laughed a little and watched the plane land. They all walked over to the gate to await the passengers' departure.  
  
"How many are we expecting?" Shego asked thinking of how she could only fit five people in her car.  
  
"Six, but don't worry, Mr. Stoppable brought them all down in their van," Kim said.  
  
"Good."  
  
The people they came here for finally came through the gate, and they greeted, exchanging hugs and handshakes. It was pretty much the usual scene you would see when friends and/or family came back from long trips. There was small talk between them as they walked through the terminal, heading for the exit, and when they reached, they parted ways.  
  
*****  
  
After a full day of arguing, and demolishing a few rooms, Quetzalcoatl and Chaos came to an agreement over Nate.  
  
"Alright, you can fight him first," Quetzalcoatl finally agreed, "but when you die."  
  
"If I die," Chaos corrected him.  
  
"There are no 'ifs' with Kul, there is only 'when'," the god said adjusting himself in his chair. "Be assured Chaos, when you do die, I will be there to take your place."  
  
"Too bad both of you are just a slight nuisance to him, or else he might actually try," Nox mocked as she entered.  
  
"Okay, I've had just about enough of this," Chaos said in surrender, "you know something, I can tell."  
  
"What gave it away?" she asked coyly. "Was it my constant mocking, or is it that you're too slow too understand?"  
  
Chaos growled deep in his throat as he advanced on the young woman, who didn't seem phased even one bit. Her staff weapon appeared from no where and she used a bit of her own unique ability when she opened her right eye. The blackness split down the middle to reveal a pearly white orb, with a blood red iris in the middle, no pupil. At once she vanished from Chaos' and Quetzalcoatl's field of view, but not from the god's sixth sense. A second later she appeared beside the assassin, the end of her staff held between his ankles. When Chaos took another step, he got caught up in it and fell.  
  
"See? Too slow," she mocked as a slight fit of giggles settled in.  
  
"Now Nox, there's no need to use the demon's eye," Quetzalcoatl said as he appeared next to her, "yet."  
  
"Of course, Sir," she bowed slightly, and simply vanished again.  
  
"She's supposed to be under my command," Chaos said as he scrambled to his feet. "What was that, teleporting?"  
  
"No, nothing as simple as that," he answered as he followed her out, leaving Chaos alone with his thoughts.  
  
'Damn them all to hell,' he thought scathingly. 'When I'm through whipping this 'Kul' he keeps talking about, he's next.'  
  
"You know Chaos, they said you should know your enemy, better than you know yourself," Aeris said as she simply faded into existence. "But you know very little."  
  
"Why do you all mock me, I'm just as strong as any of you!" Chaos retorted in an almost-yell.  
  
He had expected Aeris to laugh, but not to the extent she was, she was on the floor rolling over, clutching her stomach. Her youthful laughter filled the room and the corridor beyond, reverberating and echoing, making it louder. Finally, after five minutes of this, she regained her composure and stood, though she still shook slightly with internal laughter.  
  
"Oh, that's rich Chaos, I needed that little pick-me-up," she said wiping a tear from her eye, then shoved some papers towards him. "Here, now you'll know what you're really up against."  
  
He took the papers silently, not even a simple nod to vote his thanks, and left.  
  
"Insolence, he has no idea of the forces at work in the world."  
  
*****  
  
Nate sat in the living room, having fixed the couch and the wall behind it. Kim, Shego, Ron, and Tara were there with him; Ron and Tara were listening intently to the tale that Nate and Shego told. Shego and Nate had both shed their coats, and Nate was wearing what he usually wore, while Shego was wearing a tight, black tank top.  
  
"So, Bonnie's gone?" Tara asked with a bit of a fearful tone.  
  
"'Fraid so," Nate replied looking directly at her.  
  
"How can you act like this?" Ron asked standing from his chair. "How can be so calm when she's probably dead."  
  
"If I knew where she was, don't you think I would have gone and gotten her?" Nate snapped back at him, his ocular aura flaring. "She hasn't been harmed, I know that much."  
  
Ron sat back down looking somewhat dejected; he hadn't meant to sound pessimistic, but Nate's laid back attitude was getting to him. He understood that Nate would do whatever it took to get Bonnie back, even give his own life, which Ron knew wasn't truly possible. He knew that if Tara was taken, he would be doing all that he could to find her.  
  
"Sorry," Ron sighed hanging his head.  
  
"No apology necessary," Nate said as he stood and stepped over to one of the weapons racks.  
  
He looked down at the swords the last Ancient had bestowed to him, Molotoch, , Luciender, and Morthoseth; the swords of the Slayer, Justice, Light, and Shadow, respectively (all of these swords are © Kit Rae, at bladeclub.com, you know where to go).  
  
"So," he said, still looking at the swords, "what do we do?"  
  
Everyone just stared at him for a few seconds.  
  
"Who are we expecting?" Ron asked.  
  
"Definitely Quetzalcoatl, Aeris, and Chaos, but I'm not sure of anyone beyond them," he looked at the confused expression on Ron and Tara's faces. "I'll explain."  
  
It took him little more than five minutes to explain to the two of them just who, and what, the three he mentioned were. Tara's expression changed from that of confusion, to wonder, to horror when she heard what the three in question had done, and what they were capable of. He told them all of the charges against all of them, not leaving a single thing out.  
  
"S-so, we're going to fight them?" Tara asked shakily.  
  
"You don't have to if you don't want to," Nate said looking at her, her mind racing with fear. "The choice is yours and yours alone."  
  
"I'm gonna sit out, if that's okay with you," she said averting her gaze from him.  
  
"It's okay, Tara, really," he said in a comforting tone. 'Okay, Ron, you can take over anytime now.'  
  
"Tara, if you're not going to do it, neither am I, I really don't think either of us are up to," Ron said putting his arm around her.  
  
"Alright, three on three sounds much better," Nate said.  
  
"But what if there are more?" Kim asked.  
  
"Well, even though he is evil incarnate, Quetzalcoatl still has something of an honor code," he replied, now looking out the window. "He'll make sure that there's nothing out side of fair going on, unless it's requested."  
  
Slight ripples ran up and down his back as his muscles tensed and relaxed without any movement being made by the rest of his body. The individual vertebrae in his neck moved side to side, even though they couldn't be seen through the braid. His hands slipped behind his back and produced a butterfly knife, and with it he slashed through his hair, cutting it at the base of his neck. The heavy ring at the end of the braid fell to the floor with a thud. The newly cut hair began sectioning itself, to look like blades coming from his head. Everyone just looked down at the five feet of hair that was now on the floor.  
  
"Why did you do that?" Shego asked.  
  
"It might get in the way," he said simply, "besides, I can grow it back."  
  
"But it took you ten years to grow it the first time."  
  
He didn't respond to her, he just stooped down and scooped up the ring, slipping it around his wrist. Wrapping his hand around it, he compressed it down to a bracelet. Holding it up to the light, he squinted at the glare. His grandfather, Jinai Vincible, had given it to him, to weigh down his hair, which would always get in the way.  
  
"I'm going for a walk."  
  
"Wait, aren't we supposed to plan or something?"  
  
"I just...need to clear my head."  
  
"Well, alright," Shego sighed. 'He's finally realized just what kind of position he's in.'  
  
*****  
  
Nate sat on the rock in the park where he and Bonnie had watched the fireworks. It seemed so long ago to him, when it had only been a few days. He sighed, shifting his position so he sat cross-legged on the top of the rock. He held the pike, in sword mode, on his upturned palms, across his lap. The skin on palms flipped over to be covered with scales, so as not to be cut by the razor sharp edge of the sword. His eyes closed slowly, and his head tipped forward slightly, ruffling his now shortened hair. In a flash he had leapt up, and sliced the stone right down the middle.  
  
"That's what I'll do to you Chaos, no one harms my kin and walks."  
  
TBC  
  
There, sorry for it taking so long. I'm not going to bore you with any kinds of nonsense and whatnot, so just look for the next one soon, not many more to go. I'll probably write a third part to the story, but that's just a thought, so I'll put it up to a vote. I'm leaving it in the capable hands of you, my readers; if you want me to continue, review and tell me, if not, review and tell me. Well, that's it for now. 


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own Kim Possible, or Chaos  
  
Okay, I'm just going to skip this thing and go right to the chapter, if anyone has any problems with that, tell me and put it back in. That's all, now to the chapter.  
  
*~* flashback  
  
*~*~* dreamscape  
  
The Assassin: Nemesis  
  
Chapter 6  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~*~*  
  
A whole week passed since the last chapter ended, and Ron had changed his mind about fighting, much to Tara's dismay. He knew he may die, but he also knew that it would be an honorable sacrifice. At the moment he was going under some of the training that Bonnie had been doing, except it was a little hurried. He and Nate were in the backyard, practicing with a broadsword; Nate told him to choose one, and he chose a large German sword, one of the largest Nate had.  
  
"No, not like that," Nate said grabbing the sword from him. "It's a smooth motion. You look like you're chopping wood. I've explained to you that these people are not amateurs."  
  
"Yeah, you've told me that ten times," Ron almost shouted.  
  
"Actually, it's twelve times," the green-haired assassin said calmly. "I told you to pick something light, and quick. Instead, you grabbed a , one of the heaviest. Do you know what that sword was for?"  
  
"Uh...no."  
  
"It was for cutting down men on horseback, and required considerable strength for just that. Men trained their entire lives for just one moment to use it."  
  
"And I suppose you trained some of them."  
  
"Yes, actually. I wouldn't have it if I hadn't."  
  
"But, you told me some of those swords were over ten-thousand years old."  
  
"I have an old soul," he shrugged and reached around behind him, grasping the handle of a cutlass (a pirate sword), and unhooked it from his belt. "Try this one."  
  
He handed the hilt to Ron, who gave it a small squeeze, as was instructed, and from the six inch handle extended a 24" curved blade. It shone brightly in the afternoon sun, and almost blinded Ron when he tilted it too far.  
  
"Where'd you get this one, Black Beard?" Ron asked as a joke.  
  
"No, that I salvaged from a sunken privateer. Give it a try."  
  
Ron swung the sword in the motion Nate told him, in a figure eight, and he seemed to be much better off with the cutlass than with the massive . It was a classic scene of moving from large and bulky to small and graceful. He deftly cut, stabbed and sliced at the air with the sword as if he'd used it his whole life. Nate stood by giving him tips and pointers on the fighting style used with that kind of sword.  
  
"Now, since it is shorter than the kind of sword you were expecting to use, you can't be afraid to get in close. Don't just use the blade, use your body too; throw a punch, kick 'em, duck under their weapon and ram into them. Do anything, and everything to win," he said while grabbing another cutlass. "Alright, let's see how far along you've come in the past hour."  
  
"Right," Ron smirked and held his sword.  
  
'He's getting cocky,' Nate thought as his face remained straight.  
  
He yelled and charged at Ron, swinging his sword in recklessly wide arcs, smashing it harder and harder against Ron's blade. Ron kept having to step back every time Nate swung at him, never getting a chance to fight back. Finally, after backing up for a few minutes, he noticed Nate ease up and decided to go for it. Swinging the cutlass in a short, weak, arc, he tried the catch Nate in the side. But the half-god was prepared, and ducked under Ron's assault, ramming his shoulder into Ron's chest, sending him sprawling onto his back. Nate sheathed his sword and sighed, taking off the vest he had been wearing; it fell heavily to the ground.  
  
"That vest weighs five hundred pounds, my boots weigh six hundred each, and this cutlass weighs three times as much as yours," he said calmly. "How did I beat you?"  
  
"You have years of experience?" Ron panted.  
  
"Good answer, not exactly the answer I was looking for, but good nonetheless," it was Nate's turn to smirk this time. "I beat you because I am stronger, faster, and much more skilled. For you to stand a chance in this fight, all you have to do is become strong enough to lift that weight."  
  
He pointed to the vest.  
  
"Are you serious?" the blonde boy asked. "Five hundred pounds?"  
  
"Yes," he lifted it up and tossed it to him. "Now keep practicing, I need to be somewhere."  
  
"Where?"  
  
"A meeting, to set the time and place."  
  
He whipped out the pike and traced a quick circle around himself in the ground. The ground began to glow green, and he promptly disappeared. When he was gone, Ron got up and grabbed the vest; it felt like regular fabric, but he couldn't get even one corner off the ground. After five minutes of trying, he let go and sat back on the ground. He was starting to think that this could all be a bad dream, a really bad, really long, dream. Even he knew that some dreams, even if they just last one night, could go for days in the dream.  
  
"I might even be in a coma, and not know it," he looked down at his hands.  
  
"But how would that explain this sudden onrush of knowledge you didn't have?" asked a feminine voice behind him.  
  
Kim.  
  
"Good point," he closed his eyes and thought back, back to when saving the world was simple.  
  
Back to when he had been the humble distraction, Wade was the gadget guy, and Rufus was always there for additional support. He would have given almost anything for those carefree days, when the worst that could happen was a bad math grade. It wasn't bad at all, he would have had Tara, and Kim would still be saving the world from idiot supervillians. All that had changed the moment he had stepped onto Duff Killigan's island.  
  
"Think about it Ron, if this was a dream, then I would have my Sammy, you wouldn't have Tara, and Bonnie would still be a spiteful bitch," she said sitting down next to him. "If this was a dream, would you ever want to wake up?"  
  
Ron thought about it, really thought about it. Both sides of his brain stopped thinking of anything else, and concentrated entirely on his answer. It was a fair question for her to ask.  
  
"No, I wouldn't," he said looking over at the house. "If it was you, would you want to wake up?"  
  
"Are you kidding me, of course not. If I woke up and found that Shego didn't love me, I don't know what I'd do," she hugged her knees to her chest at the thought. "Where did Nate go?"  
  
"I don't know, he said something about setting a place and time."  
  
*****  
  
On the top level of a parking garage in an undisclosed city (not Middleton), Nate appeared. At the other end of the garage, standing atop the concrete rail was Nox, her long hair fanning out in the wind, making it look like a cape. Held diagonally across her chest was the lance; the darkness of her left was gone, revealing a blue eye, a normal eye. A small smile graced her fair lips when he turned towards her.  
  
"Well, didn't expect to see you," he said as he advanced across the rooftop parking area, "Natsu-chan."  
  
Nox blushed and turned her eye away from him; it had been long time since she'd been called that. Like Chaos, she'd been turned to the "dark side", but in a different way. She had been killed, and brought back to life as a half-demon, which explains the "demon's eye".  
  
"It's been two years and you haven't forgotten?" she asked looking back at him. Feeling somewhat foolish, she retracted her staff and tucked it into her hair.  
  
"Two years isn't that long," he sat on the hood of a car, what kind of car is up to you, "though, to tell the truth, it was hard to recognize you without your school uniform."  
  
"You liked that, huh?"  
  
"So, how did you come to be under Chaos' command?" Nate asked quickly changing the subject.  
  
"Ha, like I could possibly follow such a narrow-minded person. The council members just put me there to keep an eye on him," she closed one eye, and opened the other, then switched back.  
  
Nate laughed a little at the pun, while watching her walk to the car opposite his. She slowly sat on it and jumped slightly when she sat on the hood ornament, the car was a Jaguar, 'nuff said. Nate chuckled lightly as he watched her adjust herself to a comfortable position. Just being in this situation had brought back some memories he had kept very dear to him. Nox, aka Natsumi Arika, aka Natsu-Chan, had been one of Nate's friends when he had been in Japan, well, maybe a little more than a friend.  
  
"Why do you allow them to control you like this?" he asked calmly looking a little to the left of her, as she was trying to catch his eye.  
  
"Yes, but because they resurrected me, and placed this damn demon's eye in my head, I have to do what they say, or else..."  
  
"Pain?"  
  
"Exactly."  
  
He sighed seeing a similar bond to that of his brother's, except that for her it was permanent. There were ways to save her soul, to drive out the demon that had possessed her. Course, she would die, again. But he couldn't tell her here, not with that eye of hers transmitting everything that was going on back to the council.  
  
"Alright, where are we making the exchange?"  
  
"You never answered my question," she said as her hair shortened to be mid- back length, and her clothes changed to the usual Japanese schoolgirl uniform. "You like this look?"  
  
"Well," he started, still not looking directly at her mind you, and then mumbled, "there's nothing not to like."  
  
She heard him and smiled a little wider, he had always been like this around her.  
  
"You really care for her, don't you?" she said getting up and turning around. "Like you used to care for me?"  
  
"Yes," he kept his eyes averted while he thought.  
  
"Well then don't worry, Aeris already told you that she hasn't been harmed."  
  
"I have to know where and when," he stood up and stepped over to her. "So where does Quetzalcoatl have in mind?"  
  
"A week from now, where exchanges are usually made," she said getting ready to leave. "Whatever that means."  
  
"I know what it means," he sighed when he thought of that place, having not been there in centuries, he was weary of revisiting it (where is it? You'll just have to wait and see...or read, I'm not sure out that works exacltly).  
  
*****  
  
Quetzalcoatl stood on a cliff, looking out over a mountain range (not telling which one). Behind him stood Bonnie, wrapped in a blanket, against the cold wind that whipped around them. He smiled slightly at the thought of his plan finally coming to its focal point. He would take the pike, kill his brother's vessel, and send Kukulkan's soul to the abyss. Then he would use that pet of his brother's and kill the council, taking the planet for himself.  
  
"I love it when I win," he chuckled. "And I have you to thank."  
  
He had said that to Bonnie, who wince ever so slightly, revealing that part of her was left behind. Quetzalcoatl had not seen it; since he had his back to her, but the feel of guilt from her made shivers of pleasure go down his spine.  
  
"Did you know he was once in love with Aeris?" he asked in a nonchalant tone. Her silent reaction told him more than he needed, but it was enough. "Oh yes, Nox too, and that wasn't too long ago. I wouldn't be surprised if he still was."  
  
"If who's what?" came Aeris' voice from above them. Quetzalcoatl was silent, which was just fine for her. "Well, I've taken care of that little errand you asked me to do."  
  
"Good, now take her inside," he nodded to the shivering girl.  
  
"Cold?" she asked with a questioning look to accompany the tone.  
  
"Not entirely."  
  
Without another word Aeris placed her hand on Bonnie's shoulder and led her back inside the cave. Once inside, away from the wind and snow, it was substantially warmer. Bonnie's shivers lessened a little, but the guilt remained, and that kept the slight tremors running through her. Aeris wasn't sure exactly what the god she'd left out in the cold meant, so she just attributed the shivers to the cold.  
  
"Come on, how's about a soak in the hot springs?" she suggested and led her down a side tunnel. "That ought to warm you up."  
  
When they reached the room, Nox was there, and, having just appeared, was still in her uniform. Aeris raised an eyebrow at her, then cast a sidelong glance at Bonnie, who didn't seem to notice the slight blush on Nox's cheeks. Before they disrobed, the jet-black demoness stopped them, looking around. After a few minutes she nodded.  
  
"Okay, Shadow's not here," she said.  
  
*****  
  
Days passed, and Ron's training had been coming along faster than Nate had speculated. Perhaps what he said about Tara being in danger spurred the boy to do better. Already he had lifted the weighted vest, and was training while wearing it. It slowed down his movements quite a bit, but he just continued to improve. The cutlass had become his favorite weapon, but Nate still insisted on marksman training.  
  
"No, you're too far forward, don't square your shoulders as much," he said casually as he walked around Ron. "That's it, now one eye open, line up the sight, and fire."  
  
The bullet missed the mark completely, but still hit the target. Nate took the Beretta from Ron and held it in front of him with one hand, as opposed to Ron's two.  
  
"Like this."  
  
The three shots he fired were off so fast that the almost sounded like one shot. Looking at the target, Ron saw that all three shots had hit dead center, in exactly the same spot. The first bullet made the initial hole, then the other two went right through the same hole.  
  
"See."  
  
"How could I, you moved too fast."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Hm, well, I guess it'll give you something to shoot for," he suggested and handed the gun back. "Now, try again."  
  
"Right."  
  
Nate sat on the grass with his legs crossed, watching Ron's efforts slowly improve. He knew this boy only going to get better. He also knew that his plan to overcharge the pike was useless; after testing it out, the pike simply took the power right in without any trouble. Now his only weapon against the pike was Molotoch, and that was really more than he needed. The Ancients had really outdone themselves when they forged it.  
  
He mentally sighed, 'I've got to stop playing around; sure it's fun, but I'm letting things go too far.'  
  
The plan needed to be revamped a little. Nate had realized something about the weapons that were held by the gods. One god could challenge another for his/her weapon, and to the winner went said weapon. His had been ordained to him since his birth, but not granted to him till it was needed. Quetzalcoatl was given no such weapon, and thus had coveted his brother's.  
  
Reaching to the side he grasped the handle of the sheathed Molotoch, gripping it tightly. Though it was steel, it was warm to the touch, and that warmth spread from the handle up his arm; it was quite soothing, really. He yawned a little as the warmth relaxed his tense muscles, eyelids began drooping little by little. Ten seconds later he was asleep.  
  
"Nate?"  
  
"Huh, what?" he opened his eyes and saw Ron over by the door with Tara.  
  
"I'm headin' home now, I think I've practiced enough."  
  
"Yeah...yeah, sure, go ahead," he still felt groggy. 'How long was I out?'  
  
Sighing, he stood, walking slowly towards the door, Molotoch resting on his shoulder. It was strange to him that he didn't dream, he always had dreams about something or other. Usually what he dreamt came to pass, but this time it was just blank.  
  
"Could it mean the Earth has no future?" he wondered aloud as he entered.  
  
"Quite the collection you got here."  
  
He looked up and saw Monique stepping through the door, looking at the weaponry.  
  
"What are you, preparing for war?"  
  
"Something like that," he said placing Molotoch on its stand. "Kim's upstairs."  
  
"That's not why I'm here."  
  
"Then why?" he sat on the couch.  
  
"I was wondering where Bonnie's been."  
  
He turned away from her for a moment, wondering how to explain something like that. Monique didn't know what the others knew, she didn't even know he was an assassin. At the moment he had two choices, kill her and get over with, or lie to her. He chose the second one.  
  
"She's been out of town."  
  
"Oh, visiting?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
She looked around during the prolonged silence that enveloped them, an awkward silence.  
  
"Well...I guess I will go see Kim."  
  
"Like I said, she's upstairs."  
  
*****  
  
Finally the day had arrived. Nate stood in the backyard, waiting for the others to arrive. He wasn't wearing his usual black pants and green tank, this time he was wearing something like what Darth Maul wore in Star Wars: Episode one (I'm not exactly sure how to describe it). Leave it to Shego and Kim to choose this morning to sleep in. Ron, at least, had an excuse, he lived across town. His arms crossed over his chest and he sighed for the fourth time.  
  
"Why do I even bother?" he asked himself while his eyes closed, getting ready to leave.  
  
"WAIT!" his eyes opened and he saw Kim and Shego come through the door, the latter with the two shotels strapped to her back.  
  
"Took you two long enough."  
  
"Long night," Kim said.  
  
"I'm sure."  
  
"Where's Ron, not here yet?"  
  
"See him anywhere?" Nate asked, irritated that she would ask such a stupid question.  
  
Ron chose to arrive at that moment, with Tara following him. Nate cocked an eyebrow, why would he bring her, he thought. The time for the exchange was fast approaching, so there was no time to think about it. But he still felt compelled to ask.  
  
"Ron, why did you bring her?" he asked.  
  
"Well, I figured she could look after Bonnie," he said.  
  
"Bonnie can look after herself," he growled then consented. "There's no time."  
  
His wings didn't spread this time; all that happened was a blinding flash of light and the feeling of being ripped apart limb by limb. This feeling wasn't all that far from the truth as molecule by molecule their bodies were dispersing. When the light faded, the backyard was empty, just five pairs of footprints were burnt into the ground.  
  
*****  
  
Quetzalcoatl leaned against a withered and dying tree, the branches reaching to the sky like spindly hands trying to tear it down. Across from him was Chaos, who, instead of leaning against the tree, was taking time to hack away at the trunk. He was getting frustrated, usually he could slice a tree in two with ease, but these trunks were harder than stone, and they were dead.  
  
"I do hope you won't waste too much energy doing that," the god said with a yawn but the assassin didn't listen. "Pathetic."  
  
"What was that?" Chaos asked through gritted teeth, turning feral eyes on him.  
  
"Watch and learn," his forearm became long and thing, hand become three- fingered as white scales and gold claws formed. With one mighty slash the tree disintegrated, becoming little more than dust in the wind. "See?"  
  
"From what I've seen of Nate, either of us could easily kill him."  
  
"You didn't read the information Aeris gave you, did you?"  
  
"No, what's the point of reading something that big."  
  
Quetzalcoatl sighed, he knew Chaos wouldn't have read it, even though it could have helped him. It didn't matter anyway, this one would never die, no matter what happened to him. This vexed the god to no end, how could anyone but a god be immortal. But he had come to the conclusion that Chaos was not truly immortal. Immortal people do not spend time in limbo to get their strength back, immortal people do not die at all; immortal people could be sliced into a thousand different pieces and still not die, if it was not for the healing ability.  
  
"Chaos, how is it that you can die, and come back to life?"  
  
"Like I would tell you."  
  
"I see, you don't know either."  
  
"Of course I know, I just choose not to tell anyone."  
  
"No, you don't, I've looked into your thoughts, the information is not there," Quetzalcoatl turned to look up the path when he heard footsteps. Sure enough, there were the three girls, all of them looking especially clean. "What took you?"  
  
"We wanted to get her extra clean," Nox said flipping her long mane of hair over her shoulder.  
  
"I doubt he would care how clean she is."  
  
"I'll bet you wouldn't say that about the pike," Aeris scoffed.  
  
"Because the pike is a weapon, not a woman."  
  
They would have argued more, but a blinding light had just appeared at the top of a large Mayan style pyramid at the end of the path. Four people seemed to materialize out of nothing, all of them screaming and flailing in pain, a fifth appeared, but he didn't seem to be affected as the others (I got this form of teleporting from the movie "The One" with Jet Li, sweet movie).  
  
"Ah, their here," Quetzalcoatl grinned and spread his wings.  
  
"Finally, time for some payback," Chaos sheathed his sword and proceeded up the path.  
  
'Aeris, we're going to have to be careful here,' Nox thought to her jet black companion.  
  
'I know, if we're to keep our promises, we've got to do everything perfectly,' she thought back. "Come along young one."  
  
Bonnie's bleak expression seemed to brighten a little when she saw Nate, but only slightly. As she was told she followed Aeris and Nox to the pyramid.  
  
TBC  
  
There, it's finally done, next chapter just might be the last one, unless you want me to continue. I know that I haven't been updating much, it's just that 1) I don't have the time to type 2) I hate clichés, even if it's my story 3) I could use more reviews and 4) I need more ideas. I know you people have great ideas for how my story can end, you just don't want to insult me by voicing them. Well you should care less about my feelings, if you have an idea, tell me. If you're afraid of me rejecting your idea, I'm prepared to write several alternate endings to accommodate you. Well, this is me telling you to send your ideas, late. 


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not own Kim Possible  
  
*~* flashback  
  
*~*~* dreamscape  
  
The Assassin: Nemesis  
  
Chapter 7  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Quetzalcoatl slowly walked up the steps of the pyramid, not wanting to rush his glorious victory. Behind him, Chaos walked slowly, even though he truly looked like he wanted to go as fast as possible. Nox and Aeris followed them, with Bonnie just behind them them. She was wearing something they gave her, since she wasn't wearing much of anything when Aeris and Chaos had taken her. Because she and Nox were similar in size, she was wearing one of the cadaver's (remember, she is technically dead) ninja outfits, minus the hood.  
  
'Aeris, what are we going to do?' Nox asked. 'Neither of us want to fight him, but Quetzalcoatl and Chaos want nothing more than his death.'  
  
'Don't worry, I have a plan. The contract I signed with them isn't valid because I didn't sign it with my own blood, and you weren't specifically ordered to fight, just to be an informant,' Aeris replied. 'We don't have to fight, we'll take care of Bonnie and the other girl.'  
  
'Right, that is what we promised.'  
  
At the top of the pyramid, Nate and the others stood, three of the five of them had their hands on their knees panting, and one was on the ground. Nate was unaffected to that form of transportation, since he had done it several times before. Beneath them was a strange symbol, a circle, with a square inside it. Inside the square was a slightly smaller square, with its corners slightly off from the center of the first square's lines. There was another square inside that one, and another, and so on to create a 3-D image of some sorts. I'll try to find a picture of this online, and put a site where you can find it at the end of the chapter. Anyway, at the very center of the final square, which only measured six inches across (the largest being 60 feet across) were four "keyholes."  
  
"Nate, why didn't you take us here the normal way?" Ron asked while gently rubbing Tara on the back.  
  
"Because that's the only way to get here," he quipped.  
  
"Where is here?" Shego inquired while helping Kim to her feet.  
  
"Another planet, in the constellation of Draco. This is where the Ancients now live, and where Quetzalcoatl and I used to make exchanges."  
  
"No wonder...he chose...this place then," Kim said between heavy breaths.  
  
"They're here," Tara pointed over at the stairs.  
  
Indeed they were, the top of Quetzalcoatl's white hair could be seen, it bobbed and swayed slightly with his movement, but stayed spiked no matter how much he moved. His skin was darker than Nate's, being more towards the shade of Bonnie's skin. His hair was white as Sarah's but much shorter and more unruly, curving up over his head and shielding the upper part of his face (like I said, he looks like the Yu-gi-Oh card Harpie's Brother). He wore no shirt, only a white robe around his waist, held up by a gold belt. His neck was adorned by a jeweled necklace, with an archaic eye placed right at the hollow of his throat.  
  
Right behind him was Chaos, who wore, instead of his usual, something like what Wesley Snipes wore in Blade, the armor over his chest, the pants and boots, the guns and the sword, sheathed along his back. All this with a sleeveless, black trench coat. The ever-present blue aura around his eyes was as strong as ever, though the aura around his body was still small, he wasn't completely enraged...yet.  
  
Aeris was next, wearing, of all things, a pink dress that one of her victims wore. Given that the color was somewhat inappropriate, it did go with her sandals and short blonde hair. There were slits cut in the back, to allow her black wings to emerge through the fabric. The dress was cut very short, exposing almost three-quarters of her black thighs. Nox was at least dressed a little more respectively, wearing her black leather pants and blue tank top. Her long hair was in a tight braid down her back, and tucked safely into it was her lance. Both her eyes were "closed" at the time, not needing the demon's eye, or her normal vision. Behind them was Bonnie, eyes still looking blankly ahead, waiting to be told what to do.  
  
"So good to see you, Kul," Quetzalcoatl said with a bit of a smirk.  
  
Nate said nothing, his eyes moved from his brother to Bonnie, and back to Quetzalcoatl. She seemed to be doing fine, there were no blemishes on her body, no scents coming from her beside her own; the only thing that was wrong with her was the parts of her mind that had been extracted. He smiled, confusing his brother and Chaos, that wasn't supposed to happen, they were supposed to have him right where they wanted him, but he was smiling.  
  
"I'm sad to say that this is the end of your balancing career, brother," he continued, not really phased by Nate's smile. If the fool wanted to smile, that was his own business. "To think, you actually thought that you could stop me."  
  
"Us," Aeris corrected behind him.  
  
"Be quiet," he snapped at her, but she didn't flinch.  
  
"Well, I can't say I'm happy to see you, but it is good to see her," he had meant Bonnie, whose expression brightened a bit, as if she knew he was talking about her. "Now, can we just get this over with?"  
  
"Very well, come here," he said to Bonnie, who walked over to him, and he handed her the soul jar. "Take this and go over there."  
  
She nodded and started walking towards Nate, the jar clutched to her chest. Nate reached behind him and retrieved the pike handle from within his cloak, throwing it halfway between himself and Quetzalcoatl. The god swung his white-scaled tail out and snatched up the handle. When it reached his hand, Bonnie had reached Nate, and looked blankly up at him. A small smile crossed his face as he lifted the jar to her lips, and she drank the contents.  
  
"Nate?" she asked, the blank expression lifting from her face.  
  
"Yeah, I'm here."  
  
As he watched, her expression changed, from being overjoyed to extremely sad. She started to cry, burying her face in his shoulder. Slowly he raised his arms to encompass her slim shoulders, and hold her to him. As she cried she sobbed inane and unimportant nothings into the black cloth.  
  
"It's not your fault, Bonnie, don't cry," he whispered hoping it would help some. "Can you do something for me, Bonnie?"  
  
"What?" she asked looking up at him.  
  
"Take this and protect Tara."  
  
She felt the pommel of a sword lightly touch her abdomen, and reached between their bodies to retrieve it. The sword in her hand was Luciender (© Kit Rae, picture at bladeclub.com), the sword of Light. She just stared at it for a few seconds, before looking back up at him.  
  
"You can't trust me with this," she said trying to push it back to him. "I've messed up enough already."  
  
"Who told you that, him?" he glared over her shoulder at his silently rejoicing brother, who just stared at the pike. "Bonnie, none of this is your fault, it's mine, so stop blaming yourself."  
  
"Alright," she nodded and took the sword from him, slipping it in the sash that was tied around her waist.  
  
"Good, now go."  
  
She nodded again and stepped in front of Tara. He stepped forward, and looked down at the four holes in the middle of the symbol. Stooping, he ran his hand over it, a feeling of relief ran through him, it was still there.  
  
"Well, I guess the only thing left to do is kill you, Kul," he stood hearing Quetzalcoatl say that.  
  
The next moment, Chaos had rushed forward, unsheathing his sword and angling straight at Nate's head. He raised his dragon hand from beneath his cloak and blocked it. Unfortunately, the force of it the his right off the pyramid and into the forest below. The sound of cracking branches could be heard as he made his way to the ground.  
  
'So, he was holding back on that tree,' the white-haired god thought.  
  
"Shadow, Esadis, Raven, take care of the rest of them," Chaos said before jumping off the edge after Nate.  
  
Three men appeared from nowhere and eyed the four women and Ron. One of them, with twin sickles attached to his belt licked his lips when he looked over at Bonnie and Tara. Another one, floating a few inches off the ground, looked Ron up and down with a slightly odd look in his eyes. The last one, with a large axe strapped to his back, looked on with disinterest.  
  
"I call the two on the right," Shadow said quickly, meaning Bonnie and Tara.  
  
"Nu-uh, Shadow, they're ours," Aeris said stepping up behind him.  
  
"Yeah, we called them ages ago," Nox agreed with a few nods.  
  
"But...but I..." he tried to argue but didn't get to finish as the two women leapt at their targets. "Fine, I'll take the chick with the shotels."  
  
"I want him," Raven said quickly before Esadis picked Ron.  
  
"Looks like I get the puny one," the burly man said grasping his axe, "again."  
  
As they advanced upon their quarry, Quetzalcoatl took the time to examine his prize, the balance pike. He was still somewhat disbelieving that it was now his. As if this were a dream, and he was still back in the abyss. But that thought was pushed from his mind when the pike extended in his hands, he had more important things to think about. He actually felt like doing a little jig to celebrate, but wanted to retain his regal composure, so he settled with a wide smile.  
  
Aeris and Nox had moved forward swiftly, and grabbed Bonnie and Tara, carrying them over the edge of the pyramid, into the forest. There they set them down and stepped back, looking thoroughly pleased with themselves. Both then looked the blonde up and down, having already gotten a veeery good look at Bonnie. They looked at each other, as if having a silent conversation.  
  
"Come along, we'll keep you safe," Nox said holding out her hand as a symbol of friendship.  
  
"Why are you helping us?" was the first thing out of Bonnie's mouth.  
  
"We made a promise, now come along," Aeris said planning on taking them by force if need be.  
  
"Think we can trust them?" Tara whispered to Bonnie.  
  
"Yeah, we can," she whispered back, then said, "Okay, where are we going?"  
  
"Follow me," Aeris said and began walking.  
  
*****  
  
Out in the woods, where Nate had crashed through the petrified trees, he had landed in the large clearing. In front of him was long gouge in the ground where he had touched down. Quickly he was on his feet and prepared to fight. Through the trees came Chaos, sword held at ready and aura flaring. Nate smiled again, he was finally going to end his fellow assassin's torment. Slowly his arms raised and removed the cloak, revealing his clothes beneath (like I said, what Darth Maul wore in Episode 1).  
  
"So, here we are," Chaos said moving forward at a leisurely pace, wanting to take his time.  
  
"Yeah, I guess so," Nate reached for the hilt of the sword on his belt.  
  
Chaos charged, and Nate drew his sword, knocking away Chaos' slash with his newly drawn sword. Molotoch seemed to vibrate and hum with the expectation of battle, not just the contact of the swords. Chaos charged again and was thrown back, again, his sword humming a tune that was most sad. He hadn't expected Nate to have so much strength, but then he thought that must surely come from the sword.  
  
"What was that you blocked my sword with up there?" Chaos asked wanting to know what the hell Quetzalcoatl and the others were always making reference to.  
  
"What, this?" Nate asked as his free hand transformed to its dragon form. "Just my arm."  
  
This time, Nate took the initiative and charged, raising Molotoch with one hand, the other poised for a follow-up attack. When his sword made contact with Chaos' blade, he didn't stop, he kept pushing Chaos back unto his slammed into a petrified tree, cracking it. His hand then came forward, ramming itself into the right side of Chaos' chest, and it came out through his back, destroying the tree behind him. He removed his blood-covered fist and leapt back from the healing Chaos.  
  
When he landed he opened his hand and saw a small crystal in the center. It was blood red, hexagonal in shape, and had sharp barbs sticking out at each corner. It seemed to be alive, what with the way it pulsed and all. A scale poked through his skin, directly beneath the crystal, holding it up for closer inspection.  
  
Chaos shook his head, dazed from the feeling of his head being slammed against the tree. He felt strangely empty, like a piece of him was taken, but he couldn't figure out what piece. Looking himself over, he saw that the armor over his chest had been punctured, a six-inch-wide hole was over his right pectoral muscle. He undid the clasps at the shoulders and the sides of the armor, discarding it to the ground. The object of his rage seemed to have retreated for a time, and was examining his hand.  
  
'He must have injured himself on my armor,' Chaos thought in a mildly amused manner.  
  
"So, this is Chaos' immortality?" Nate asked himself while looking deep into the depths of the crystal. It was an amazingly complex piece of technology and physical mana (the magical essence that exists in all living things). "Seems a little small."  
  
"What are you waiting for, are we going to fight or not?" Chaos yelled from the other end of the clearing.  
  
*****  
  
CRASH!  
  
Lightening struck as Raven took to the air, snapping his whip again and again at Ron who duck and dodged. He hadn't unsheathed his cutlass yet, and wasn't going to till he could get Raven to be at ground level, but how to do that. The flying assassin seemed to thoroughly enjoy whipping at Ron over and over, since his smile never faded even once.  
  
'Dammit, how am I supposed to get him down here?' Ron thought as he dove to the right. He would have shot at his enemy, but had neglected to grab the Beretta when he left the house. 'Nate didn't tell me about this.'  
  
*****  
  
Shego was fairing just as well as Ron, since there were plenty of shadows Shadow had plenty of places to hide. Every few seconds he would pop up and slash at her with his sickles. She was quick enough to dodge, but he was getting closer with every strike. It wasn't long before one of his sickles caught her across the arm.  
  
"Ah, dammit!" she clutched her bleeding arm, but felt it heal when she concentrated.  
  
*****  
  
Esadis had no need for his shifting ability, all he had to do was swing his axe. All Kim had to do was dodge, but Esadis was faster than his size would make him appear. She, like the others, hadn't counted on these three showing up, and wasn't at her best.  
  
"Woah," she jumped to the side as Esadis' axe slammed into the stone.  
  
When he removed it, the crack closed up and looked as if nothing had happened. But something had happened, the moment Esadis' axe hit the pyramid Quetzalcoatl felt a sharp sting of pain in his chest, almost causing him to drop the pike. He couldn't understand why this had happened, but he did understand that if it caused him pain, then it must have caused his brother pain as well.  
  
*****  
  
Nate felt the slight twinge of pain in his chest, but didn't let it stop him. With the crystal clenched in one hand and Molotoch in the other, he battled with Chaos. The petrified grass beneath them cracked and snapped under their feet. Unlike his brother, he knew exactly what the pyramid was, and why it affected them both. What is it? You'll find out later.  
  
"Do you think this is what she wants for you, Kyle?" Nate asked deciding the play the "Lisa" card.  
  
"I don't care anymore," his opponent shouted back, "AND DON'T SAY THAT NAME!"  
  
His next slash had some extra force behind it, pushing Nate back again. This didn't surprise the god, most, if not all people gained extra strength from rage. He also knew that it came from being cornered, which Chaos, at the moment, was. The only way to exorcise the demon inhabiting Chaos' mind and body was the bring it to full strength, then lay the smackdown on it, and the only way to do that was to enrage it.  
  
"Do you know why she was killed Kyle?" he continued not really caring that Chaos hated his real name. "She was just another piece of meat to them, a bargaining chip to get you."  
  
"What do you mean?" Chaos asked while still charging.  
  
Nate blocked the first charge and slashed back, pushing Chaos to the ground. He quickly recovered and returned to the battle. They were moving faster now, faster than before. With Chaos' increased rage came increased speed, and Nate was all too happy to oblige. He continued using one hand while Chaos' used two, slashing, thrusting and cleaving at every opening that presented itself.  
  
"I mean, it was all an elaborate plan to get you as their assassin," he replied as the two swords were thrust against each other, edge grinding against edge, Molotoch humming and pulsing grew stronger. "The council you so willingly serve sent your three lackeys, disguised as students, into your school to start a shooting. They spotted you with Lisa, and decided to have a little fun."  
  
"You LIE!" Chaos' aura flared into greater prominence and he pushed harder against his sword, but it didn't budge.  
  
"You're living a lie Kyle, after the trial, Shadow came to you and offered you a chance for revenge," he smirked as Molotoch's humming grew stronger. "Like a fool you agreed, without even thinking of the consequences."  
  
"Stop talking and FIGHT!" he pushed harder, spurned on by the words being fed to him.  
  
"Do you think I'm using my full power, Kyle?" Nate asked with a wink.  
  
He began to push, claws ripping through thin boots to grip the stone ground. Chaos couldn't understand it, just a second ago he was winning, his power had redoubled itself in rage and he had been pushing Nate back, now...  
  
With one push, Nate sent Chaos flying across the field and against the already broken tree, finishing it off. In less than a second he was on Chaos again, ramming his knee into the dark assassin's face. Feathered wings sprang from his back and he powered into the air. Sheathing Molotoch he clawed his hands, readying them to do their work. He cut off the power under his wings and dropped like a stone towards the disoriented enemy.  
  
Landing hard against the ground, it caused a deep depression, into which Chaos slid. One clawed hand grabbed his neck, the other reared back, and balled into a fist. The crushing blows to Chaos abdomen were swift and relentless as they pounded away. The sound of ribs cracking echoed in both of their ears as the punches continued. He finished it with an uppercut to Chaos lowered chin, so it propelled him up, over Nate's shoulder, instead of just straight up.  
  
He landed outside of the depression in a heap; his sword was lost to him, embedded in the tree that he had collided with. Slowly, the haze lifted and he saw Nate standing over him, but it wasn't the Nate he had ever remembered seeing. His hair raked back over his head in the form of blades and spines, and his pants were ripped to reveal his lower legs to be that of dragon, his arms had also changed. He then felt some wrapping around his waist; it was a tail, Nate's tail.  
  
"How?" he asked weakly as he was lifted off the ground.  
  
"You'd be surprised how much you can injure someone without killing them," Nate mocked as he flung a rapidly healing Chaos across the field. "Right now, I'm at half my power, so you better give me your all."  
  
"Bastard!" Chaos yelled as he stood, fully healed.  
  
In an instant a clawed hand covered his vision and slammed into his face, smashing him back against another tree. The hand left his face and grabbed his arm, holding it still. The twin tail tips wrapped around his other arm, and one foot held both his feet still. He struggled, of course, but the grip was unbreakable, and he looked on his horror as he saw Nate draw a new sword, Cinthorc (© Kit Rae), Sword of Justice.  
  
"Kyle, time for you to wake up," he said as he plunged the sword into Chaos' heart.  
  
Black blood began spurting from the wound, and Chaos' body writhed and screamed in unholy torment. Light welled up in his throat, and he began to choke, still Nate kept the sword inside him. He knew it was just the demon attempting to save itself by killing its host, but that wouldn't happen with Cinthorc where it was. The blood slowly changed from black to red, and Nate knew it wouldn't be long.  
  
With a burst of light, the demon within Chaos exploded from his mouth, unable to withstand Justice. It landed behind Nate, who quickly pulled the sword from Kyle's body, letting him heal. Slowly, deliberately, he turned to the demon, which seemed to be just scribbled of light, swirling around an obvious shape of some spawn from Hell. The draconian wings were very evident as it breathed heavily. It didn't have long, as Nate moved forward and easily sliced its head off with just a tiny slip of his wrist.  
  
"Wha...what happened?" Kyle asked as he stood, feeling his chest heal. "Nate, what did you do?"  
  
"So, your memory wasn't damaged?" Nate asked hesitantly.  
  
"No...No, I remember everything," the young man said with disgust for himself.  
  
"The demon controlling you is dead now," the god said as he returned to his normal, human form. "It's good to have you back, my friend."  
  
"It's good to be back," he said and looked over at the pyramid. "I need to repay them for all they did for me."  
  
"Then get going, I'll catch up with you," Nate said and made sure that Kyle was out of sight before taking the crystal from his pocket and crushing it. He then turned to where he sense Bonnie and the others, sending her a message, 'Bonnie, unsheathe Luciender, spread its light.'  
  
*****  
  
"Right," Bonnie said as she gripped the hilt of the sword, which pulsed.  
  
"'Right,' what?" Aeris asked glancing back at her. "Oh."  
  
As soon as Luciender was unsheathed all shadows were banished as rays of brilliant light engulfed the area. The blade gleamed with an unnatural light in itself, it was almost licked by the flames caused by its aura. The four women stared at it, and only Aeris knew what this meant, she alone had seen Luciender's blade before, and knew of the power that it held.  
  
"Quick, up these stairs, get to the top and help them," the black-skinned demoness said pushing Bonnie towards a large staircase.  
  
"Okay," she said and ran up the stairs, he clothing shifting slightly as the power of Luciender coursed through her.  
  
*****  
  
"Well, ready to give up?" Raven asked as he playfully snapped his whip again.  
  
"AAAARRRGGGHHH!" Shadow screamed as Shego cleaved him into four neat little pieces with the shotels. Luciender's light had banished all shadows giving the assassin no more opportunities to use his namesake.  
  
"YAH!" a war cry was heard as an armored Bonnie leapt up from the top of the stairs, Luciender's aura flaring as she did so. "Take this!"  
  
With that she brought the sword down and through Raven's arm, severing it, and the whip, from his body. She landed and ran over to Ron, helping him up.  
  
"You little bitch, I'll get you for that," Raven threatened while shaking his fist.  
  
"Doubt it," she quipped and Luciender's aura flared again, sending out another flash of light that blinded Raven. "Now Ron, get 'em."  
  
"Right," he ran forward and pulled out his cutlass.  
  
He rammed his shoulder into Raven, who had drifted down to the ground to try and avoid the light. But that was to be his downfall as Ron brought the cutlass cleanly through his neck, taking his head off. It rolled a few feet before falling over the edge.  
  
"That got 'em," Ron high-fived Bonnie.  
  
TBC  
  
Just wanted to cut it off there, this chapter is getting too long, even by my standards. Anyway, I hope you guys like reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. Oh, before I forget, I updated my other story "The Mutant", how come nobody's reviewed, do you not like the chapter? If you don't like it, don't be afraid to tell me. Even I don't really like that chapter. But enough of my rambling, don't forget review on this chapter. One more thing, I'm supposed to come up with a senior quote for the yearbook, any suggestions? 


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I do not own Kim Possible or the assassin known as Chaos/Kyle.  
  
Quick thing, I finally got around to reading the full story of the Swords of the Ancients at www.unitedcutlery.com, I suggest you do the same. It's very informative for anyone who wishes to know what powers the ten swords possess.  
  
*~*~* flashback  
  
*~* dreamscape  
  
The Assassin: Nemesis  
  
Chapter 8  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Kim couldn't get her head around this situation, nor could she get away from Esadis. Somehow with his massive muscles and heavy weapon, he was stronger than her, obviously, and insanely fast. She continued to dodge, but was losing ground fast. He raised the axe over his head and was about to cleave her in two, when she rolled between his legs. Before she could even get to her feet she had to roll to the side to avoid the axe.  
  
"Stay still, I'll be sure to make it quick," he said shifting the axe from one hand to the other.  
  
"Sorry, but I can't do that," she got to her feet and was about to run.  
  
Suddenly she felt an intense pain in her back. Esadis had thrown his weapon, and had hit her with the blunt of the head, between the two blades. Holding out his hand, a cord shot out of his palm, wrapping around the handle and pulling it back to his hand. He advanced on the fallen heroine, muscles in his arms rippling as he raised the axe.  
  
"Get away from her!" Shego yelled and threw one of her shotels, a chain attached the pommel extending as if by magic.  
  
Esadis' arm became a metal plate, which deflected the shotel. But once he moved it aside to say something to Shego, another shotel caught him in his exposed chest. He looked down at it and wrenched it from his ribcage, which healed almost instantly. He then yanked on the chain, almost pulling Shego off her feet, but she held tight, bracing her feet against the stone.  
  
Though he didn't have eyes in the back of his head, Esadis could sense Bonnie and Ron coming up behind him. He blocked both attacks with his axe, throwing the two teens to the ground. Luciender flew from Bonnie's hand, skidding across the pyramid to stop right in front of Quetzalcoatl. He was about to pick it up when it up and disappeared.  
  
He turned and saw Nox holding the sword and smiling, her demon eye open. Then, just as quickly as she was there, she was gone. Quetzalcoatl wasn't sure if it was of her own power, or Luciender's power. He knew of the swords that the Ancients had commissioned the Dark Elves to forge. Luciender revealed what was hidden, while hiding the wielder. Morthoseth was its opposite.  
  
"I wonder, is Anathar (sword of Power) here as well?" he wondered.  
  
The sound of a gunshot rang out over the petrified trees, and Esadis' face exploded outward. The hole where his face had once been was a complete contrast to the small hole in the back of his head. Everyone turned to see Chaos standing there with his gun drawn and still aimed at the fallen body of the shape-shifter.  
  
"That takes care of him," he holstered his gun and looked at the others.  
  
*****  
  
Nate looked down at Molotoch, the sword of the Slayer, contrast to Cinthorc. He had forgotten, in his years since receiving the ten swords from the Mithrodin (© Kit Rae). He had forgotten that there was a price to gaining such power. A price of equal value to what the sword was used for. This was bad, he had used Cinthorc to save Kyle, something that used a great deal of the sword's power. The wielder was never told what the price was, but he had a fairly good idea.  
  
"You wanted to preserve order in the world of mortals, see what you've done?" he asked no one; he knew the ancients were gone from this place called Ammon (Ammon is © Kit Rae).  
  
Then it his him, he had given Luciender to Bonnie, what had she used it for, what price would she pay. A prince had once used Luciender to save his kingdom, and lost his life in the process. He had been thinking of using Molotoch to defeat Quetzalcoatl, but that would most likely cost him one of two things, his own life or Bonnie, he didn't want to think of either one.  
  
"I'll have to use it, though, they did lock it away for good reason," he said as he pulled out Ulmethar (© Kit Rae), the Key. "But there is no other choice, that is the only sword that requires no price."  
  
He slashed at the air with Ulmethar, opening an instant doorway to his destination.  
  
*****  
  
A bright flash blinded the others atop the pyramid as Nate stepped through. He quickly surveyed the scene before him: Quetzalcoatl was looking somewhat irritable, Ron looked weary but alive, Shego was seeing to Kim, and healing her injuries, Bonnie stood next to Nox, taking Luciender back, and Aeris was just walking up the stairs with Tara.  
  
'Good, they're all safe and sound,' he thought and then looked towards the glowing center square. "I'll need Luciender."  
  
He walked over to Bonnie and she gave him the sword, not even needing to be asked. They shared a silent embrace before he asked her something.  
  
"Bonnie, what did you do with Luciender?"  
  
"I cut off Raven's arm," she said then saw his look of urgency. "Why?"  
  
"No reason, forget it," he said and walked to the center square.  
  
After placing his hand over the center, that seemed to be pulsing, but he didn't feel the presence of the sword. He didn't understand, this was where Salek told him it would be. Salek being one of the Mithrodin who had known where Anathar was hidden. Unless he had lied, just in case he had been speaking to Quetzalcoatl.  
  
'Well, I don't blame him,' he thought as he stood up.  
  
He grabbed the shoulder of his cloak and threw it off him, revealing himself to be wearing a harness around his chest, that held the sheathed Molotoch and Cinthorc. Around his waist was a belt that held Morthoseth and Luciender. Strapped to his left boot was a dagger, the Shadowslayer (© Kit Rae). He unsheathed Molotoch, and unhooked the harness, throwing Cinthorc behind him, to be caught by Shego. He left the other two at his waist, they would get in the way much. Reaching down, he removed the dagger from around his ankle and tossed that to Shego as well.  
  
About to take a step forward, he felt a hand on his shoulder. Kyle was holding him back, an unreadable look on his face. His eyes were closed, so there was no point in reading those, and his thoughts were racing a mile a minute. Despair was clenched in his right hand, the blade's point just and inch above the floor.  
  
"Nate, let me have the first shot," he said in a deathly calm voice. "You may have saved me from that life, but that doesn't mean I'm not guilty. I have to atone for my sins."  
  
"Yes, dying an honorable death will do that," Nate replied. "You'll be with Lisa soon, Kyle."  
  
"Thank you," he stepped around Nate and held his sword at ready.  
  
"Oh, you want to try your luck," Quetzalcoatl said with a smirk from ear to ear. "Well come on then."  
  
A second later Despair clashed with the pike, causing sparks and lightening to fly in all directions. Nate had no need to shield himself, and left Shego to shield herself and the others. The two combatants continued to do battle. Kyle slashed again and again, but the god he was fighting never even moved, except to block with the pike. After a few minutes Despair wasn't fairing too well; the edge has nicks and dents in it, and a hairline fracture had started to form. It wouldn't be long now.  
  
Finally Quetzalcoatl was tired of playing, and went on the offensive. He struck Kyle's sword with the pike at full power, causing the crack to spread. With the next attack Despair shattered, the pieces falling to the ground. After ditching the sword, Kyle punched Quetzalcoatl, not even phasing him. The next strike of the pike was straight through the center of Kyle's chest. The blood-soaked blade punched through its victim's back, dripping the blood to the floor. He yanked the pike out and kicked Kyle in the face, sending him sprawled at Nate's feet.  
  
"Well, I...guess...(cough)...this is...(cough)...goodbye," he said in a broken voice, coughing up blood as he spoke.  
  
"Goodbye," Nate said as Kyle's body simply faded away. 'Like dust in the wind.'  
  
He stooped down and picked up the only thing remaining, a small locket on a golden chain. The inscription on the back read 'Kyle and Lisa', and opening it he saw Kyle, with his arms around Lisa from behind, with his head on her shoulder. He closed the locket and slipped it into his pocket, later he would put it on Lisa's grave, if he could find it. Looking up he decided to try a little something.  
  
"Ah, the brilliant lights of the sky, how they flicker," he said in a low voice.  
  
"What?"  
  
"When was the last time you looked at the stars, Quetzalcoatl?" Nate asked looking his brother in the face.  
  
"The day you put me in that god-forsaken abyss," he said while shifting to pike to a better position.  
  
"That was the same day I last looked. Kinda funny."  
  
"How is that funny?"  
  
"I'm not talking about the stars, I was just thinking about how our colors are reversed. Me with the dark colors of green and black, while you've been giving the colors of good, white and gold. It's kinda funny really."  
  
"Hm, I guess it is a little funny when you think about it."  
  
Together they laughed, but not a fake laugh, a real laugh. But, even though they were smiling and laughing, their eyes never lost the burning hatred for each other. The others looked on, confused, except Aeris, who couldn't help but smile. The reason they were confused was because the two gods, without thinking, had reverted to speaking their own language.  
  
All of sudden the laughter stopped, and the two were simply gone. They couldn't be seen until a loud sound of metal on metal filled the air. In the air they had connected, Molotoch and the pike, Molotoch's blade being blocked between the two blades of the pike. Both had their wings out, tails whipping all over, trying to grab and trap the other. Nate finally broke the stalemate by kicking Quetzalcoatl in the stomach, hard, causing him to lurch and lose his position.  
  
Sparks flew as the two blades slid passed each other, and Nate, taking advantage of his position, swung full around in mid-air and was about to deliver the finishing blow. He was thwarted, though, when Quetzalcoatl smacked his arms with his tail, causing Molotoch to shift and only hit him with the blade turned sideways, making it more like a paddle. It may saved his life, but that doesn't mean that no damage was done.  
  
The next moment they were gone again, and every few seconds the sounds out metal on metal, or scales on scales would be heard. In a brilliant flash of white lightening, Nate was thrown back and into the forest again, taking out a few of the trees on his way. Quetzalcoatl leveled the pike and was ready to fire after him. In a flash of light, his target was gone, having used Ulmethar to escape. The white-scaled god whipped around and the two weapons clashed as Nate appeared.  
  
"Told you I've improved," Quetzalcoatl growled.  
  
"Not from what I can see," Nate said as he pulled himself fully from the portal he created.  
  
Nate's tail whipped out and finally hit its mark, Quetzalcoatl's tail, the forked tip wrapping around it. He held it there, keeping his brother from going anywhere. He then took one hand off of Molotoch, invoking its power to allow him enough strength to hold him off with one hand, and grabbed the pike. White and green lightening flashed out all around them as he tried to pull it away. So long as he had his hand on the pike, and being the pike's true owner, he would be able to stop its power from flowing.  
  
'I hate to do this, but it must be done,' he brought Molotoch up and slashed down, through the pike.  
  
The energy released was enough to throw them apart, Nate losing grip on Quetzalcoatl's tail and being thrown down to the pyramid, while his brother was thrown up into the sky. When he landed he impacted the stones hard enough that they cracked and the stones that were forced out of the way curled up and fell on him.  
  
Bonnie ran up to it and began trying to pull boulders out of the way. Nox stepped up and gently pried her from the rocks, then pulled out her staff. With a whip sound the end split open and a small bolt of energy blasted away a part of the rock, but not a lot; it did expose a scaled hand though. The hand moved, reaching out and grabbing the rocks on top of him and throwing them off. He stood and turned to watch as the stones reformed themselves to be exactly as it was.  
  
"Nate?"  
  
He didn't look at Bonnie, at her face, or at her hands, which were covered in dust. He looked up at the sky, waiting for Quetzalcoatl to get back. His wings twitched uncomfortably, and a slight pain stabbed in his back. Looking over his shoulder he saw that one wing was bent at an odd angle. It repositioned itself and healed. Molotoch, he looked at and then rammed it into the stone.  
  
"Bonnie, tinn hik wen fe sanna ru," he said watching the ball of light in the sky. "Kanni shulu gapsha."  
  
"What?" she looked at him with a confused expression.  
  
"He said go stand over there, it's not safe here," Aeris said and led her and Nox back to the group.  
  
While their backs were turned a wind whipped around them, blowing their hair all about. Bonnie turned around and saw Nate with his arms crossed in front of him, while Quetzalcoatl, in the air and looking to have just hit with incredible speed, was pressing against him. The white god drew one arm back and slashed at Nate's chest with his claws. He did it again, and again, but, even though he was bleeding profusely, Nate didn't budge. His ribs and sternum were exposed through the large hole in his shirt, but there didn't seem to be even a hairline fracture on the bones.  
  
"You fool, you just broke your own weapon!" he yelled and slashed Nate across the shoulder. Now, not only did he have three scars going down, but three scars crossing over them.  
  
"Better it be broken then let you have it," Nate growled back, more from anger than pain. "Besides, that's the price I had to pay."  
  
He quickly pushed Quetzalcoatl back and thrust one hand at him, claws forward, only to have it caught. He planned this, though, and slashed his brother across his chest, ripping off large pieces of flesh. Both of the claws on the index fingers of their free hands extended into what looked like short swords, like a wakizashi. Those claws connected again and again between them, sending sparks and small flecks of the claws every which way.  
  
"Last time we ended this with the pike, now how will we end it?" Quetzalcoatl asked with a sneer.  
  
"Easy," Nate said simply and let go of his brother's hand, again throwing him off balance.  
  
His other claw grew and slashed at Quetzalcoatl's arm, severing it above the elbow, where there weren't any scales. He then grabbed his brother's claw/sword and broke it at the base, taking some of the finger with it. His hands then grasped his brother's head and brought his back, bringing it forward to slam against Quetzalcoatl's forehead, disorienting him. Then he grabbed his arm and flung him into the air, reaching into his pocket and pulling out the half of the key to the abyss (almost forgot about that, didn't ya).  
  
'Thank you, Aeris,' he thought and had the other half dropped into his hand by his tail. "NOW GO BACK WHERE YOU BELONG!"  
  
He slammed the two halves together. Winds the likes of which would usually signal a massive hurricane kicked up, and grew in strength, actually swaying the petrified trees. In the sky, behind Quetzalcoatl, was what looked like a distortion in the very fabric of reality, which was technically what it was. It finally exploded outward, becoming something like the portal from the Hot Wheels: Highway 35 thing (don't get me wrong, I saw it on CN, pretty cool). Long tentacles whipped out and wrapped around Quetzalcoatl's arm, legs, tail, and his wings, pulling him towards it.  
  
"WHAT?! NO!" he struggled, of course, but absolutely no ground was gained, the abyss' grip is inescapable, without help (I believe I explained that).  
  
Once Quetzalcoatl was fully inside the vortex, more tentacles came out and headed for Aeris, seeing as how her sentence wasn't finished. But Nate wasn't going to have this, Aeris had proved herself to be fully reformed, besides, Sashna had complained how it got lonely at the temple. He pulled the two halves apart and the portal closed, severing the tentacles, which dissipated.  
  
The key fell to the ground and Nate's body soon followed, shrinking down to his full human form. The wounds he'd suffered from the battle didn't automatically heal themselves. This is what Bonnie, who had run up to him with tears streaking her face, was wondering now. Slowly she lifted his body and turned him over, cradling his upper body on her lap, not even caring about the blood. She ran her hands through his hair and pulled it away from the gashes in his cheek.  
  
"Those wounds were inflicted to him by another god," Aeris said crouching next to her. "They'll take awhile to heal, but the scars will remain."  
  
"I don't care about that, I just want to know if he's going to live?" Bonnie snapped holding Nate tighter to her, almost possessively.  
  
"Bonnie, uy bok myu," he said softly.  
  
"He said he'll be fine," the jet black demoness translated.  
  
Shego came over and placed a hand on Bonnie's shoulder, causing the girl to shiver slightly. She struggled to her feet, trying to drag Nate up with her; she had to step in to help her. Nate may not have looked like he weighed anything over 150 pounds, when he actually weighed about 190. Right now, with them all very worn out, he felt like he weighed a ton. Bonnie was able to support him with Nox's help, seeing as how Shego went to tend to Kim. Ron followed with Tara, and Aeris stood by the center of the pyramid, waiting.  
  
They gathered around her, realizing that with Nate near unconscious, she was the only one who could take them home. Shego's eyes seemed to glaze for a moment, then she took all of the swords, Molotoch, Cinthorc, Luciender, and Morthoseth, and walked over to the center. She unsheathed them and placed them in the four holes around the circle in the middle. The swords were absorbed into the stone, the glow from the stone increasing because of it.  
  
'Now they'll be safe,' Aeris thought. "Time to go."  
  
*****  
  
A month later, Bonnie's eyes opened to the sound of the door closing. When her eyes focused, she could see that Nate, who she had her arm curled around, was gone. Getting up, she saw that the gauze and bandages were in heap next to the bed. She pulled the sheets off the bed and wrapped them around herself, stepping out into the hallway. The sound of another door closing alerted her to his leaving the house. Making her way down the stairs, she one hand on the sheet, and the other on the rail.  
  
When she entered the kitchen, she could see him through the windows, standing with his arms slightly spread, and palms up, head facing the morning sun. His hair had returned to its original five foot long braid, with the silver ring at the end. As she watched, long slits opened in his back, and his wings unfolded, stretching from fence to fence, almost seventy feet. The wings then shrunk down till each was just ten feet.  
  
Slowly he turned around, the wings folding around his shoulders. His now permanently scarred body was mostly exposed, since he was only wearing a pair of mesh shorts. He noticed Bonnie watching him through the window, and smiled a little, pulling the wings fully into his back. Walking in he saw that she had the comforter from his bed wrapped around herself.  
  
"Did I wake you?" he asked.  
  
"Yeah, but I was about to get up anyway," she said then remembered the other thing she had wanted to say. "I guess you're finished healing?"  
  
"Told you all I needed was a month," he said flexing a bicep. "Good as new."  
  
The moment though was spoiled when Shego came into the kitchen, blurry eyed and just in a bra and panties. Nate averted his eyes respectfully, but she didn't even seem to notice the two as she got a cup of coffee and walked back upstairs. Nate's hair had covered his face, but through the strands Bonnie could see just a hint of a blush on his cheek. There was a question she wanted to ask him, but wasn't sure if the answer was one she wanted to here.  
  
"Nate, is there any way that I can be...like you?" she asked somewhat unsure how to phrase the question.  
  
"How do you mean?" he asked confused.  
  
"You know...the dragon thing," she said with her eyes on her bare feet.  
  
"Well, I suppose it is possible, it would be easier to do with the pike. But I have one question, why do you want this?"  
  
"I can't explain it, since I've known who and what you are, I've wanted nothing more than to be like you. I don't fully understand this feeling inside me, but it keeps driving me to become more than I am. Does that make any sense?"  
  
"Not really, but most things in life don't."  
  
He watched her for a few minutes, waiting to see what she would do, if anything. She just stayed where she was, leaning against the sink with the comforter pulled tightly to her. His eyebrow cocked slightly as he could see every detail of her body. He was stuck, to say the least; the power of the gods was meant for the gods, not for mortals. A human with that kind of power was never meant to be, but, well, there he was standing there.  
  
'That's different, I was chosen to carry the pike, and now it's gone. So that means I shouldn't have these powers anymore, I shouldn't even be able to contain the dragon within. Yet I can, and am. How can I grant her that power when I don't understand it myself?' he debated internally.  
  
Bonnie's eyes continued to be on her feet, but could see his in her peripheral vision, and they hadn't moved a millimeter. She wanted an answer, but had changed enough to respectful, and not be an obnoxious bitch. She could wait, and would wait as long as she had to for an answer. Finally, she moved, stepping by him and going back upstairs.  
  
"I'm going to get dressed."  
  
"Alright."  
  
Once she was gone, he slumped into a chair, thinking back to simpler times. The time he had spent with Natsumi, no matter how short it had been, had been one of the best times of his life. She had known he was an assassin, in fact it was her father who had hired him for the job, him being the head of a sect of the Yakuza. From the moment he walked into his office and saw her, he had been in love. He couldn't help but wonder, had she known he was immortal, would she still be of the living? More importantly, would she have still been with him?  
  
"It can be done, but I'm not sure if she's far enough advanced to be able to control it," he though aloud while moving to the couch in the living room. "Will her body even accept it?"  
  
That was the main question at this point, would her body accept that kind of change? He had been thirteen, barely into puberty, when his body was changed. Seeing as how he was still growing the transition came much easier than it would have had he been at the age he was at now. Bonnie was a fully-grown young woman, so two things could happen, it could either make her, or break her.  
  
The sound of feet on the stairs alerted him to someone's approach; turning he saw it was Kim. She was fully dressed in her usual green tank and blue short pants. She yawned as she collapsed into the chair next to the couch, and picked up the remote.  
  
"Long night?"  
  
"Well, I'll say one thing for Shego, she is insatiable," Kim smiled as her thoughts turned to the previous night (and that's where I'm ending this train of thought).  
  
"I really didn't need to hear that."  
  
"Hey, you asked the question," she had him there, and she knew it by his silence.  
  
They sat in silence amidst the mass of weapons that lined the walls of the living room. Having been asleep for most of a month, Nate hadn't had time to return them, and even now he was reluctant. He just had a feeling that there was something else out there that would require him to keep these weapons. The council was not that something, it was them who were keeping the balance of good and evil, without them the world would be doomed to destruction.  
  
'At least the scales are balanced,' he though looking over at the scales on the mantle.  
  
TBC  
  
Sorry for taking so long with this chapter, I had an idea for a different fight scene, but realized it was going to be much too long. Anyway, if you want me to rewrite the chapter, starting just after the pike was broken, vote on it. If you feel that this is adequate, tell me, and if you want the extended version, tell me. Naturally the most votes wins, and no, you cannot vote more than once, unless you have more than one ID on ff.net, then I guess you have a way around it. Well, that's all, I gotta start updating my other stories now, there's someone who seems very adamant about reading the next chapter of "The Mutant". 


	9. Chapter 8: extended version

Disclaimer: I do not own Kim Possible or the assassin known as Chaos/Kyle.  
  
Here we go, the extended version. I'm really hoping I get more reviews for this one than the other one. No offense to Chaos, I was just hoping for, you know, more. Just remember to visit United Cutlery's web site, and read the story of the Swords of the Ancients.  
  
*~*~* flashback  
  
*~* dreamscape  
  
The Assassin: Nemesis  
  
Chapter 8  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Kim couldn't get her head around this situation, nor could she get away from Esadis. Somehow with his massive muscles and heavy weapon, he was stronger than her, obviously, and insanely fast. She continued to dodge, but was losing ground fast. He raised the axe over his head and was about to cleave her in two, when she rolled between his legs. Before she could even get to her feet she had to roll to the side to avoid the axe.  
  
"Stay still, I'll be sure to make it quick," he said shifting the axe from one hand to the other.  
  
"Sorry, but I can't do that," she got to her feet and was about to run.  
  
Suddenly she felt an intense pain in her back. Esadis had thrown his weapon, and had hit her with the blunt of the head, between the two blades. Holding out his hand, a cord shot out of his palm, wrapping around the handle and pulling it back to his hand. He advanced on the fallen heroine, muscles in his arms rippling as he raised the axe.  
  
"Get away from her!" Shego yelled and threw one of her shotels, a chain attached the pommel extending as if by magic.  
  
Esadis' arm became a metal plate, which deflected the shotel. But once he moved it aside to say something to Shego, another shotel caught him in his exposed chest. He looked down at it and wrenched it from his ribcage, which healed almost instantly. He then yanked on the chain, almost pulling Shego off her feet, but she held tight, bracing her feet against the stone.  
  
Though he didn't have eyes in the back of his head, Esadis could sense Bonnie and Ron coming up behind him. He blocked both attacks with his axe, throwing the two teens to the ground. Luciender flew from Bonnie's hand, skidding across the pyramid to stop right in front of Quetzalcoatl. He was about to pick it up when it up and disappeared.  
  
He turned and saw Nox holding the sword and smiling, her demon eye open. Then, just as quickly as she was there, she was gone. Quetzalcoatl wasn't sure if it was of her own power, or Luciender's power. He knew of the swords that the Ancients had commissioned the Dark Elves to forge. Luciender revealed what was hidden, while hiding the wielder. Morthoseth was its opposite.  
  
"I wonder, is Anathar (sword of Power) here as well?" he wondered.  
  
The sound of a gunshot rang out over the petrified trees, and Esadis' face exploded outward. The hole where his face had once been was a complete contrast to the small hole in the back of his head. Everyone turned to see Chaos standing there with his gun drawn and still aimed at the fallen body of the shape-shifter.  
  
"That takes care of him," he holstered his gun and looked at the others.  
  
*****  
  
Nate looked down at Molotoch, the sword of the Slayer, contrast to Cinthorc. He had forgotten, in his years since receiving the ten swords from the Mithrodin (© Kit Rae). He had forgotten that there was a price to gaining such power. A price of equal value to what the sword was used for. This was bad, he had used Cinthorc to save Kyle, something that used a great deal of the sword's power. The wielder was never told what the price was, but he had a fairly good idea.  
  
"You wanted to preserve order in the world of mortals, see what you've done?" he asked no one; he knew the ancients were gone from this place called Ammon (Ammon is © Kit Rae).  
  
Then it his him, he had given Luciender to Bonnie, what had she used it for, what price would she pay. A prince had once used Luciender to save his kingdom, and lost his life in the process. He had been thinking of using Molotoch to defeat Quetzalcoatl, but that would most likely cost him one of two things, his own life or Bonnie, he didn't want to think of either one.  
  
"I'll have to use it, though, they did lock it away for good reason," he said as he pulled out Ulmethar (© Kit Rae), the Key. "But there is no other choice, that is the only sword that requires no price."  
  
He slashed at the air with Ulmethar, opening an instant doorway to his destination.  
  
*****  
  
A bright flash blinded the others atop the pyramid as Nate stepped through. He quickly surveyed the scene before him: Quetzalcoatl was looking somewhat irritable, Ron looked weary but alive, Shego was seeing to Kim, and healing her injuries, Bonnie stood next to Nox, taking Luciender back, and Aeris was just walking up the stairs with Tara.  
  
'Good, they're all safe and sound,' he thought and then looked towards the glowing center square. "I'll need Luciender."  
  
He walked over to Bonnie and she gave him the sword, not even needing to be asked. They shared a silent embrace before he asked her something.  
  
"Bonnie, what did you do with Luciender?"  
  
"I cut off Raven's arm," she said then saw his look of urgency. "Why?"  
  
"No reason, forget it," he said and walked to the center square.  
  
After placing his hand over the center, that seemed to be pulsing, but he didn't feel the presence of the sword. He didn't understand, this was where Salek told him it would be. Salek being one of the Mithrodin who had known where Anathar was hidden. Unless he had lied, just in case he had been speaking to Quetzalcoatl.  
  
'Well, I don't blame him,' he thought as he stood up.  
  
He grabbed the shoulder of his cloak and threw it off him, revealing himself to be wearing a harness around his chest, that held the sheathed Molotoch and Cinthorc. Around his waist was a belt that held Morthoseth and Luciender. Strapped to his left boot was a dagger, the Shadowslayer (© Kit Rae). He unsheathed Molotoch, and unhooked the harness, throwing Cinthorc behind him, to be caught by Shego. He left the other two at his waist, they would get in the way much. Reaching down, he removed the dagger from around his ankle and tossed that to Shego as well.  
  
About to take a step forward, he felt a hand on his shoulder. Kyle was holding him back, an unreadable look on his face. His eyes were closed, so there was no point in reading those, and his thoughts were racing a mile a minute. Despair was clenched in his right hand, the blade's point just and inch above the floor.  
  
"Nate, let me have the first shot," he said in a deathly calm voice. "You may have saved me from that life, but that doesn't mean I'm not guilty. I have to atone for my sins."  
  
"Yes, dying an honorable death will do that," Nate replied. "You'll be with Lisa soon, Kyle."  
  
"Thank you," he stepped around Nate and held his sword at ready.  
  
"Oh, you want to try your luck," Quetzalcoatl said with a smirk from ear to ear. "Well come on then."  
  
A second later Despair clashed with the pike, causing sparks and lightening to fly in all directions. Nate had no need to shield himself, and left Shego to shield herself and the others. The two combatants continued to do battle. Kyle slashed again and again, but the god he was fighting never even moved, except to block with the pike. After a few minutes Despair wasn't fairing too well; the edge has nicks and dents in it, and a hairline fracture had started to form. It wouldn't be long now.  
  
Finally Quetzalcoatl was tired of playing, and went on the offensive. He struck Kyle's sword with the pike at full power, causing the crack to spread. With the next attack Despair shattered, the pieces falling to the ground. After ditching the sword, Kyle punched Quetzalcoatl, not even phasing him. The next strike of the pike was straight through the center of Kyle's chest. The blood-soaked blade punched through its victim's back, dripping the blood to the floor. He yanked the pike out and kicked Kyle in the face, sending him sprawled at Nate's feet.  
  
"Well, I...guess...(cough)...this is...(cough)...goodbye," he said in a broken voice, coughing up blood as he spoke.  
  
"Goodbye," Nate said as Kyle's body simply faded away. 'Like dust in the wind.'  
  
He stooped down and picked up the only thing remaining, a small locket on a golden chain. The inscription on the back read 'Kyle and Lisa', and opening it he saw Kyle, with his arms around Lisa from behind, with his head on her shoulder. He closed the locket and slipped it into his pocket, later he would put it on Lisa's grave, if he could find it. Looking up he decided to try a little something.  
  
"Ah, the brilliant lights of the sky, how they flicker," he said in a low voice.  
  
"What?"  
  
"When was the last time you looked at the stars, Quetzalcoatl?" Nate asked looking his brother in the face.  
  
"The day you put me in that god-forsaken abyss," he said while shifting to pike to a better position.  
  
"That was the same day I last looked. Kinda funny."  
  
"How is that funny?"  
  
"I'm not talking about the stars, I was just thinking about how our colors are reversed. Me with the dark colors of green and black, while you've been giving the colors of good, white and gold. It's kinda funny really."  
  
"Hm, I guess it is a little funny when you think about it."  
  
Together they laughed, but not a fake laugh, a real laugh. But, even though they were smiling and laughing, their eyes never lost the burning hatred for each other. The others looked on, confused, except Aeris, who couldn't help but smile. The reason they were confused was because the two gods, without thinking, had reverted to speaking their own language.  
  
All of sudden the laughter stopped, and the two were simply gone. They couldn't be seen until a loud sound of metal on metal filled the air. In the air they had connected, Molotoch and the pike, Molotoch's blade being blocked between the two blades of the pike. Both had their wings out, tails whipping all over, trying to grab and trap the other. Nate finally broke the stalemate by kicking Quetzalcoatl in the stomach, hard, causing him to lurch and lose his position.  
  
Sparks flew as the two blades slid passed each other, and Nate, taking advantage of his position, swung full around in mid-air and was about to deliver the finishing blow. He was thwarted, though, when Quetzalcoatl smacked his arms with his tail, causing Molotoch to shift and only hit him with the blade turned sideways, making it more like a paddle. It may saved his life, but that doesn't mean that no damage was done.  
  
The next moment they were gone again, and every few seconds the sounds out metal on metal, or scales on scales would be heard. In a brilliant flash of white lightening, Nate was thrown back and into the forest again, taking out a few of the trees on his way. Quetzalcoatl leveled the pike and was ready to fire after him. In a flash of light, his target was gone, having used Ulmethar to escape. The white-scaled god whipped around and the two weapons clashed as Nate appeared.  
  
"Told you I've improved," Quetzalcoatl growled.  
  
"Not from what I can see," Nate said as he pulled himself fully from the portal he created.  
  
Nate's tail whipped out and finally hit its mark, Quetzalcoatl's tail, the forked tip wrapping around it. He held it there, keeping his brother from going anywhere. He then took one hand off of Molotoch, invoking its power to allow him enough strength to hold him off with one hand, and grabbed the pike. White and green lightening flashed out all around them as he tried to pull it away. So long as he had his hand on the pike, and being the pike's true owner, he would be able to stop its power from flowing.  
  
'I hate to do this, but it must be done,' he brought Molotoch up and slashed down, through the pike.  
  
The energy released was enough to throw them apart, Nate losing grip on Quetzalcoatl's tail and being thrown down to the pyramid, while his brother was thrown up into the sky. When he landed he impacted the stones hard enough that they cracked and the stones that were forced out of the way curled up and fell on him.  
  
Bonnie was about to run over when she felt a clawed hand on her shoulder. She turned and saw Aeris, her aloof expression gone, replaced with one of fear. Ron and Kim held Shego back from helping, and Nox had a bit of a confused expression.  
  
"We have to get down from here," Aeris commanded while pulling Bonnie with her towards the edge. "NOW!"  
  
That got everyone moving towards the stairs, and they were soon making their way to the ground. Before the pile of rocks were out of sight, a light was shining through the cracks. From the sky a shaft of pure white lanced down and bathed the rocks in light. All at once the sides exploded outward as great, black, feathered expanses burst forth and continued to extend, longer and longer. Finally the rocks on top were demolished and Nate stood up, the wings continuing to grow from his back. His head was bowed, eyes closed, in his hand was Molotoch, which he threw away, landing in Aeris' hands.  
  
It was impossible to tell just how large the wings were when another pair began to grow from just below the first pair. These grew till they were slightly smaller than the two upper wings, meaning they were just as immeasurable. They were much much larger than any of the others could remember them being, except Aeris, she had seen this before. There was nothing now that could stop what was about to happen. And what was about to happen, she didn't want to think about.  
  
"Aeris, what's going on?!" Nox asked over the howl of the wind that had just whipped around them, caused by the slight twitch of a wing.  
  
"The pike's been broken, so now there's nothing to keep his power in check!" she yelled back. "Either he has to expel all the excess energy, or it'll destroy him from the inside out."  
  
"I'm guessing neither one has better consequences?"  
  
"Not really."  
  
Meanwhile, up in the sky, Quetzalcoatl was holding the two halves of the pike, its power completely gone. He desperately tried to put it back together, even spitting on both ends and placing it together, that didn't work too well. Now he was mad, and with that anger came a transformation. His body began to lengthen, his face bulging into a snout, tendrils whipping out on either side of his nose. As his hands grew he let the two halves fall down into the forest.  
  
Within a few seconds he was in his natural state, a massive, white dragon. I have come up with an easy way of describing these dragons without going into a boring paragraph of details. Imagine Shenron (the Eternal Dragon) from DBZ/GT, with large wings on either shoulder, and white of course. And instead of the fur on the sides of his face, there would be feathers.  
  
With his enhanced sight, the pyramid glowed with an unnatural light, a light he couldn't understand. But that light, which was so welcoming to him, was quickly being blotted out. It wasn't just the pyramid, but a shadow was quickly spreading over the forest as well. He looked deeper, and saw feathers on the shadow, and those feathers were connected to wings, and those wings were connected to...Kul.  
  
'This isn't right, how can he have that much power?' he thought to himself. 'Where is it coming from?'  
  
He didn't know what Aeris knew, he didn't know of Kul's connection to the pike. He had wondered exactly why they were the only two left, well, he knew why he was here, but didn't know why Kul hadn't died with the others. It was beginning to make sense to him though; he was beginning to understand why they died. Their weapons had been lost and broken, while the pike had been hidden away, and Kul descended to the ethereal plane, seeing as how humans had no need of gods to protect them.  
  
'I understand now,' he thought turning in a circle. 'Their own power destroyed them, but I...I am above that. I never had weapon, therefore it cannot destroy me.'  
  
He quickly began to descend, mouth opening in preparation to swallow his brother.  
  
-----  
  
Nate, on the other hand, wasn't fairing as well as his brother. The pain inside of him was unlike anything he had ever felt before. He had been stabbed, sliced, cut (yes, there is a difference), burned, shot, tortured, and even killed, but none of those even held a candle the pain he felt. But there was something odd about this pain, it was far off, like he was feeling a slight soreness from an old wound that had hurt.  
  
'So, this is what it's like,' he thought not daring to open his eyes, he didn't know what would happen. 'But maybe this was supposed to happen.'  
  
Slowly his body began to ripple and bulge, lengthening, becoming scaly and feathered. Blade/feathers tore through his back, his clothing long having been absorbed. His wings had stopped growing, now his body was growing to match them. As he grew he could feel the pain draining away, becoming more distant. His body stopped growing, twice as large as it had been before. Making him now over a thousand feet long, and his upper wings almost a mile wide on either side, the lower about three-quarters of that.  
  
Finally he opened his eyes, his vision, if possible, even clearer than it was before. He saw everything, including the white dragon who was diving at him. This was to be expected of someone like Quetzalcoatl, headstrong.  
  
'Like someone else I once knew,' Nate thought to himself with a slight chuckle. 'Now to blow off some steam.'  
  
He was easily twice as large as his brother, and ten times more powerful, but that didn't mean he would win. It just mean he had a better chance of winning. His mouth opened and from it fired a stream of green lightening, headed straight for Quetzalcoatl. His brother easily dodged and continued to dive.  
  
'We end this now Kul.'  
  
'Yes,' he fired again, multiple shots this time.  
  
One of them grazed his brother's side, causing a burn that went right down to the skin. It quickly healed as he got closer. At the last second Quetzalcoatl veered off course, upon seeing just how large Kul was. He had figured it to simply be a trick of the light. What he hadn't seen, though, was Kul's tail lashing out and striking him across the face, sending him down into the forest.  
  
-----  
  
The others watched from below, in awe of the sheer size of the two dragons, Bonnie and Nox most of all. Neither of them had ever seen Nate like this, and weren't even blinking, trying to catch every moment. It was hard to keep their eyes open, because of the wind still being produced by the four large wings above them. Even though the wings were monstrous in proportion to the body, it didn't hinder his speed at all. Instead, the wings stretched and pulled when he moved, always staying at the same altitude, which was much higher than the two dragons.  
  
"Think he'll win?" Tara asked.  
  
"Of course he will," Bonnie said quickly.  
  
"If the energy inside doesn't destroy him first," Aeris said leaning against a tree. 'He has to find something to replace the pike, soon.'  
  
"Aeris, is there any way that he can stop what's happening?"  
  
"He has to transfer his power to a weapon that is compatible with it."  
  
'I think I know just the weapon,' Shego thought.  
  
"Aeris, how do you know all this?" Nox asked, even though she had gotten to know the demoness, she had neglected to find out how she knew so much about Kukulkan.  
  
"Shego, Nate brought the scythe, right?" Kim asked in a whisper.  
  
"Yeah, he did."  
  
"Can't that be used?"  
  
"Let's hope so."  
  
-----  
  
Nate opened his mouth and fired a large bolt of lightening right at Quetzalcoatl, who was starting the burrow under ground. The bolt struck just as he disappeared beneath the petrified trees and grass. He was about to follow when someone's thoughts butted into his own.  
  
'Nate, can't you transfer the power to the scythe?' it was Shego.  
  
'Yes, I could, but I'm busy right now,' he said. 'Oh, and you might want to get back on the pyramid, he's coming up beneath you.'  
  
'Right.'  
  
He turned around and saw them about halfway up the steps, just as Quetzalcoatl burst through the ground. Taking this opportunity, he dove forward, opening his jaws wide, and clamping them down on his brother's neck. There were two howls of pain as Quetzalcoatl circled around and sank his teeth into Nate's neck as well.  
  
'There has to be a way to get it here,' he thought then it hit him.  
  
The shadow vanished from the sky, and the massive dragon disappeared. Quetzalcoatl's teeth closed on air as Nate, now human, leapt away. He had Ulmethar in his hand as he ran through the trees, making sure there was enough distance between himself and Quetzalcoatl to have time.  
  
When he felt he was far enough away, he slashed the air with Ulmethar, and reached through, grasping the pole of his scythe. The sound of crashing trees made him jump slightly, as he pulled the scythe through. Another slash of Ulmethar and he was atop the pyramid, with all four swords, floating above him. The swords dropped from the air and slid into the four keyholes that I mentioned last chapter. The lines of the shape around him began to glow a bright green.  
  
"Kal rani shimot gre," he said raising the scythe over his head.  
  
The runes on the blade, which usually shown an almost unseen shade of red, were now green, and dancing along the blade. New patterns were formed upon the blade as the lines came to rest in their proper places. He brought the blade down and slammed it into the stone, causing a great pain to shoot through his chest, but it quickly passed as a column of green light engulfed him, lancing upwards, into the sky. Clouds began to gather, soon the two moons were overcast, and the land was bathed in shadow, the only light coming from the pillar of energy.  
  
-----  
  
'No,' Quetzalcoatl yelled in thought as he saw the light. 'I've seen this before.'  
  
-----  
  
"Do it Kul," Aeris said quietly.  
  
'Nate, please be okay,' Bonnie thought.  
  
-----  
  
The light receded down into a pillar little more than four feet in diameter, and even that began to recede. Little by little, Nate was exposed, the blade of the scythe appeared first, cutting its way through the curtain of green, then hands clutching the pole, then a long, green braid appeared, held down by a thick metal ring, then his chest, legs, shoulders, and finally his head, tilted back. His head slowly moved to look forward, eyes opening, the white part was black, while the iris remained green, though there was no pupil.  
  
Small sparks of lightening jumped all over his body, like a super Sayan (or Seijin, depends on if you prefer the English or actual spelling). The parts of his hair that were too short for the braid were standing out like blades from his head. When he lifted his foot to step forward, little bolts of lightening snapped between his shoe and the stone. Tendons and muscles rippled as he continued forward, approaching the edge. Once he reached it, green feathered wings sprung from his back and small snaps of green electricity flashed from the tips of the now blade-like feathers and the ground. No longer were the feathers like those of a soaring bird, these looked more like curved swords stuck to his wings, they even gleamed with a metallic sheen.  
  
The others all looked up him, looks of amazement mixed with fear and admiration were on their faces, even Aeris. She had never expected him to actually take the swords into himself. He now had eight swords within himself, Elexorin and Kilgorin (Swords of War and Darkness), Anathros and Valermos (Swords of Earth and Fire), Luciender and Morthoseth (Swords of Light and Shadow), and Cinthorc and Molotoch (Swords of Justice and the Slayer). The only swords unaccounted for were Anathar (Sword of Power) and the other, which may be forever lost to the sands of time.  
  
"Tu, oki weh asx (translation: Now, to end this)," he said softly and whipped his tail down the pyramid and into a surprised Aeris' top, emerging with the other half of the key.  
  
"That tickled," Aeris couldn't help but giggle, while receiving a glare from both Bonnie and Nox.  
  
Not to be left out, Quetzalcoatl took to the air, launching balls of lightening at Nate, who simply sent them away with a flick of his wrist. He then lifted the scythe up over his head and with one swing, sent a dozen small blades flying at his brother. The blades moving with an obvious flight plan as the severed quets wings from his shoulders, momentarily dropping him to the ground. Reaching into his pocket he took out the other half of the key. And, finally speaking in English, he said:  
  
"GO BACK WHERE YOU BELONG!" and he slammed the two halves together.  
  
Winds the likes of which would usually signal a massive hurricane kicked up, and grew in strength, actually swaying the petrified trees. In the sky, behind Quetzalcoatl, was what looked like a distortion in the very fabric of reality, which was technically what it was. It finally exploded outward, becoming something like the portal from the Hot Wheels: Highway 35 thing (don't get me wrong, I saw it on CN, it was pretty cool). Long tentacles whipped out and wrapped around Quetzalcoatl's arm, legs, tail, and his wings, pulling him towards it.  
  
"WHAT?! NO!" he struggled, of course, but absolutely no ground was gained, the abyss' grip is inescapable, without help (I believe I explained that).  
  
Once Quetzalcoatl was fully inside the vortex, more tentacles came out and headed for Aeris, seeing as how her sentence wasn't finished. But Nate wasn't going to have this, Aeris had proved herself to be fully reformed, besides, Sashna had complained how it got lonely at the temple. He pulled the two halves apart and the portal closed, severing the tentacles, which dissipated.  
  
The key fell to the ground and Nate's body soon followed, shrinking down to his full human form. The wounds he'd suffered from the battle didn't automatically heal themselves. This is what Bonnie, who had run up to him with tears streaking her face, was wondering now. Slowly she lifted his body and turned him over, cradling his upper body on her lap, not even caring about the blood. She ran her hands through his hair and pulled it away from his face.  
  
"Those wounds were inflicted to him by his own weapon," Aeris said crouching next to her. "They'll take awhile to heal, but the scars will remain."  
  
"I don't care about that, I just want to know if he's going to live?" Bonnie snapped holding Nate tighter to her, almost possessively.  
  
"Bonnie, uy bok myu," he said softly.  
  
"He said he'll be fine," the jet black demoness translated.  
  
Shego came over and placed a hand on Bonnie's shoulder, causing the girl to shiver slightly. She struggled to her feet, trying to drag Nate up with her; Shego had to step in to help her. Nate may not have looked like he weighed anything over 150 pounds, when he actually weighed about 190. Right now, with them all very worn out, he felt like he weighed a ton. Bonnie was able to support him with Nox's help, seeing as how Shego went to tend to Kim. Ron followed with Tara, and Aeris stood by the center of the pyramid, waiting.  
  
They gathered around her, realizing that with Nate near unconscious, she was the only one who could take them home.  
  
'Well, I guess the swords are safer within him than without him,' was Aeris' last thought before concentrating on taking them home.  
  
*****  
  
A month later, Bonnie's eyes opened to the sound of the door closing. When her eyes focused, she could see that Nate, who she had her arm curled around, was gone. Getting up, she saw that the gauze and bandages were in heap next to the bed. She pulled the sheets off the bed and wrapped them around herself, stepping out into the hallway. The sound of another door closing alerted her to his leaving the house. Making her way down the stairs, she one hand on the sheet, and the other on the rail.  
  
When she entered the kitchen, she could see him through the windows, standing with his arms slightly spread, and palms up, head facing the morning sun. His hair had returned to its original five foot long braid, with the silver ring at the end. As she watched, long slits opened in his back, and his wings unfolded, no longer the blads, stretching from fence to fence, almost seventy feet. The wings then shrunk down till each was just ten feet.  
  
Slowly he turned around, the wings folding around his shoulders. His now permanently scarred body was mostly exposed, since he was only wearing a pair of mesh shorts. He noticed Bonnie watching him through the window, and smiled a little, pulling the wings fully into his back. Walking in he saw that she had the comforter from his bed wrapped around herself.  
  
"Did I wake you?" he asked.  
  
"Yeah, but I was about to get up anyway," she said then remembered the other thing she had wanted to say. "I guess you're finished healing?"  
  
"Told you all I needed was a month," he said flexing a bicep. "Good as new."  
  
The moment though was spoiled when Shego came into the kitchen, blurry eyed and just in a bra and panties. Nate averted his eyes respectfully, but she didn't even seem to notice the two as she got a cup of coffee and walked back upstairs. Nate's hair had covered his face, but through the strands Bonnie could see just a hint of a blush on his cheek. There was a question she wanted to ask him, but wasn't sure if the answer was one she wanted to here.  
  
"Nate, is there any way that I can be...like you?" she asked somewhat unsure how to phrase the question.  
  
"How do you mean?" he asked confused.  
  
"You know...the dragon thing," she said with her eyes on her bare feet.  
  
"Well, I suppose it is possible, it could be done with the scythe, but with it not being the original weapon, I'm not sure how it will react. But I have one question, why do you want this?"  
  
"I can't explain it, since I've known who and what you are, I've wanted nothing more than to be like you. I don't fully understand this feeling inside me, but it keeps driving me to become more than I am. Does that make any sense?"  
  
"Not really, but most things in life don't."  
  
He watched her for a few minutes, waiting to see what she would do, if anything. She just stayed where she was, leaning against the sink with the comforter pulled tightly to her. His eyebrow cocked slightly as he could see every detail of her body. He was stuck, to say the least; the power of the gods was meant for the gods, not for mortals. A human with that kind of power was never meant to be, but, well, there he was standing there.  
  
Bonnie's eyes continued to be on her feet, but could see his in her peripheral vision, and they hadn't moved a millimeter. She wanted an answer, but had changed enough to respectful, and not be an obnoxious bitch. She could wait, and would wait as long as she had to for an answer. Finally, she moved, stepping by him and going back upstairs.  
  
"I'm going to get dressed."  
  
"Alright."  
  
Once she was gone, he slumped into a chair, thinking back to simpler times. The time he had spent with Natsumi, no matter how short it had been, had been one of the best times of his life. She had known he was an assassin, in fact it was her father who had hired him for the job, him being the head of a sect of the Yakuza. From the moment he walked into his office and saw her, he had been in love. He couldn't help but wonder, had she known he was immortal, would she still be of the living? More importantly, would she have still been with him?  
  
"It can be done, but I'm not sure if she's far enough advanced to be able to control it," he though aloud while moving to the couch in the living room. "Will her body even accept it?"  
  
That was the main question at this point, would her body accept that kind of change? He had been thirteen, barely into puberty, when his body was changed. Seeing as how he was still growing the transition came much easier than it would have had he been at the age he was at now. Bonnie was a fully-grown young woman, so two things could happen, it could either make her, or break her.  
  
The sound of feet on the stairs alerted him to someone's approach; turning he saw it was Kim. She was fully dressed in her usual green tank and blue short pants. She yawned as she collapsed into the chair next to the couch, and picked up the remote.  
  
"Long night?"  
  
"Well, I'll say one thing for Shego, she is insatiable," Kim smiled as her thoughts turned to the previous night (and that's where I'm ending this train of thought).  
  
"I really didn't need to hear that."  
  
"Hey, you asked the question," she said coyly.  
  
"Touché," he said narrowing his eyes.  
  
They sat in silence amidst the mass of weapons that lined the walls of the living room. Having been asleep for most of a month, Nate hadn't had time to return them, and even now he was reluctant. He just had a feeling that there was something else out there that would require him to keep these weapons. The council was not that something, it was them who were keeping the balance of good and evil, without them the world would be doomed to destruction.  
  
'At least the scales are balanced,' he though looking over at the scales on the mantle. 'But, if anything should happen to change that, I'll be ready with my scythe.'  
  
At the thought specific runes on the scythe began to glow in the pattern of a dragon.  
  
TBC  
  
There, that's the extended version, I hope you like this one. I'm leaving the original version up, just in case people want to read that instead. Oh, before I forget, Elexorin, Kilgorin, Anathros, Valermos, Luciender, Morthoseth, Cinthorc and Molotoch are all © Kit Rae. I have to say this for legal purposes, as should anyone else who decides to use the names of such amazing weapon. 


	10. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I do not own Kim Possible  
  
*~*~* flashback  
  
*~* dreamscape  
  
The Assassin: Nemesis  
  
Chapter 9  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
"I won't stop," Bonnie said as she stood from where she fell.  
  
"I know," Nate smiled at how far she had come in the past few months alone.  
  
Three months had passed since the last chapter, school had started, and Nate, having no jobs lined up, was attending regularly. Bonnie still hadn't been made a full assassin, so she wasn't given any jobs. It was almost Christmas, and Middleton was covered in a fine layer of powdery snow, beneath that was black ice. Nate had decided to step up Bonnie's training in preparation for what was to come. A week prior to this he had gotten a letter (well, to be more precise, Shego got a letter), saying that a family reunion was being planned. He had groaned, most of the assassins in his family were too full of themselves at this point.  
  
'Thank gods for the family tournament,' he thought as Bonnie charged him, her purple trench coat swirling around much the same as his green. 'I'll be able to show them just how much I've improved since last time.'  
  
Bonnie's next strike was fast, very fast, but seemed slow to him as he deflected it harmlessly to the side. His foot snapped out, catching her ankle, kicking it towards her other foot, causing her to fall forward. As she fell he pirouetted neatly around her, and thrust his elbow into her side, forcing her to the ground. She lay there for a few seconds, moaning, holding her side, then she slowly stood up.  
  
"How did you not see what I was going to do?" he asked her. "Bonnie, you have to think of fighting as chess, predicting moves and compensating to turn them against your enemy is all part of the game."  
  
"But...you're too...fast," she said between breaths, still holding her side.  
  
"You're just going to have to get faster."  
  
*****  
  
A graveyard, but not just any graveyard, this graveyard contains the grave of one Lisa Hela. The pendant was still there, the days of the graverobber were over, so no one was going to take it. A shadow covered the grave, and leather bound hand snatched up the locket. They raised the locket to their shadowed face, and opened it, smiling at the pictures contained within. The chain was looped over their neck hidden beneath the hood. They turned and headed off, towards the exit.  
  
"Rest in peace, sweet Lisa," they said taking one last look over their shoulder.  
  
*****  
  
"When are they gonna get home?" Shego asked as she watched the clock.  
  
"You know them, when it comes to training, they'll go for hours," Kim said.  
  
"Like me," the raven-haired woman said.  
  
"Yeah, but in a different way," the young redhead replied, sitting on her girlfriend's lap.  
  
The Sindel house had been decorated for the appropriate holiday. There was a tree, with garland, lights, ornaments, and, in place of a star or an angel, a small sword was placed atop the tree. There was the traditional mistletoe hanging in the archway at the end of the short hallway that connected the living room to the kitchen.  
  
"So, family reunion, eh?" Kim asked.  
  
"Yeah, it's been so long since the last one, I was really only about your age then," she replied with a slightly thoughtful look. "It ended with Darien losing his hand."  
  
"Darien?"  
  
"My asshole-of-a-second-cousin, he and Nate have been competing since the day they could hold a weapon."  
  
"I'm guessing it was Nate that took his hand."  
  
"Yup, he said he keeps in a jar of formaldehyde in his closet. It's creepy in a way, but if you'd known Darien, you'd say he deserved it," Shego said with a bit of a shudder at the thought of that person.  
  
The door swung open and bounced off the doorstop on the wall, a swurl of winter air coming in with it. In an instant two persons ran inside and shut the door. There was a blizzard outside at the moment, and the forecast had called for almost three feet of snow by the next day, which was Monday. Kim and Shego's attention turned to the two disrobing figures, it was Ron and Tara.  
  
"Hey, I see that Nate and Bonnie haven't gotten back yet," Ron said as he pulled off the large stocking capitalism he wore, shaking his slightly longer hair.  
  
"Nope, we're expecting them any minute though," Shego said and she stood up, brushing the wrinkles out of her red and green clothes (tis the season), and greeted them. "Anyone care for some hot chocolate?"  
  
"I'd love some," Tara said as she hung up her heavy winter coat.  
  
"Be right back then."  
  
*****  
  
"Shouldn't we be getting back?" Bonnie asked as she threw a snowball at Nate, a distraction.  
  
He watched the snowball whiz by his head, knowing full well that Bonnie was going to charge him. Turning back he was met by a snowball to the face, then Bonnie's elbow in his gut. A grunted laugh escaped him as he twined his fingers above his head and slammed the combined fist into Bonnie's back.  
  
"Yeah, we should," he said helping her up. "That was a good workout today, you almost had me."  
  
"I know, I've gotta work on striking and retreating."  
  
"Right."  
  
He grabbed her hand and squeezed it, feeling the invisible forced from beneath him lift up the flaps on their coats and their hair. In a flash of light they were gone, as well as all the snow within a five-foot radius, evaporated.  
  
*****  
  
Two hours later the six of them were sitting in the living room at the Sindel house, enjoying a cozy fire. The scales above it hadn't even move a bit since Quetzalcoatl had been banished to the abyss. Aeris, having been spared, had taken up residence keeping Sashna company at the temple. Nate sat on the floor, his back against the front of the large armchair that Bonnie was sitting in, her legs wrapped around his shoulders. Ron sat on the couch, Tara as close to him as she could be without actually being on his lap. Also on the couch was Shego, with Kim on her lap.  
  
'It's too peaceful,' the ever-ready part of Nate said.  
  
'Maybe, but let's enjoy it while we can,' the calm part retorted. 'It might not last too long.'  
  
He sighed a long, contended sigh as he got more comfortable where he sat. The carpet was soft, without being irritating as most kind of carpets are, and the thigh right next to his face made a wonderful pillow. He watched the fire burn and dance behind the metal grate, and decided to have a little fun.  
  
The fire grew huge for a few seconds and small bits of it flew through the grate to land on the stone hearth in front of it. Christmas music filled the air as the stereo turned on, and the bits of flame began to dance. There were six of them in all, all taking on a bit of a human shape (like flubber, except on fire; I always wanted to watch that blob of green burn). Everyone watched them with interest, and when it they were done, everyone clapped and applauded as they bowed. The bits then jumped back into the flames.  
  
"You know, you're all welcome at my house for Christmas dinner," Kim said a bit offhandedly.  
  
"Mom and Dad won't be home till New Year's, so...sure, why not," Nate answered stretching. "Unless Bonnie wants to spend a nice quiet dinner here."  
  
"What about Sarah?" Bonnie asked.  
  
Yes, after the whole thing with his brother, Nate had gone and gotten Sarah from Aki's. She was asleep at the moment, seeing as what time it was.  
  
"She'll be going home," he said while thinking of how empty the house would feel. "I told Jinai about how her parents left her here, he said he'd deal with them later."  
  
"Well, at least he knows," Shego said.  
  
Nate settled back against the chair, wondering what was happening to Nox at the moment. With the demon's eye in her he couldn't track down her signal, with it being masked and all. It was strange, even though he couldn't find her, he could still feel her mind, trying to reach out. It was impossible, he knew that, but it didn't keep him from wanting to believe it.  
  
'What's happening to you right now, Natsumi?' he thought.  
  
*****  
  
In contrast to the blizzard raging across the American Midwest (I can only guess that that's where Middleton is) it was sunny and warm in the temple in the Andes. Aeris was busy flying around grabbing various things and decorating the large cavern with this and that. Sashna was watching her with an extensively confused expression on her face. She didn't know what all this was, and when she asked, Aeris just said that it was Christmas. That just confused the young catgirl, and Midora even more so.  
  
"What is Christmas?" she asked.  
  
"I don't know, I was looking through one of the memories left behind when I returned those human souls, and this was one of them. I know it's strange, but every year, many of the people on this planet decorate their houses like this and give gifts," the demoness said as she placed an evergreen tree that got form gods know where on top of the entrance to the abyss.  
  
Small, black tendrils lifted from the surface and gripped the tree, but didn't pull it down. She then proceeded in decorating it with the usual things. She stepped back and looked at it, something was missing; snapping her fingers she held her hands out in front of her, as if to hold something. A small flash of light and in her hands was a star; her wings fluttered and she placed it atop the twenty-foot tree.  
  
"Tell me, Sashna, what do you wish for?" Aeris asked as she eyed her creation with satisfaction.  
  
"I wish that Kul would come home."  
  
'Thought so,' she thought then said. "I mean other than that."  
  
"Oh, um," she placed her hand on her chin tin thought. "That's a good question."  
  
"Not much for material things, are you?" the jet-black woman asked as she patted Sashna on the head.  
  
"Uh-uh," she shook her head. "What about you?"  
  
"Kul, would be nice, but that's ancient history," she looked thoughtful for a second, then said, "I want to be cured of this need for souls."  
  
"It can be done," Sashna said with a purr, Aeris was scratching her behind the ears now. "With the archway."  
  
*****  
  
"Merry Christmas to me," Kyle said as he opened up a seemingly abandoned warehouse.  
  
Inside was a cache of weaponry he had stowed away there. What with the loss of his beloved Despair, he needed something new. It had occurred to him that he could ask Nate if he could borrow a weapon, he had seen the arsenal when he blew open the house. That idea hadn't appealed to him much, since he figured it was best they thought he was dead for good. He knew, though, that Nate knew he was alive, always keeping tabs on his energy signature. But the balance keeper always made sure to make him aware of his presence inside the once-dark assassin's mind.  
  
"Maybe..." he picked up a large, double bladed axe, with two glowing green eyes on either blade, Agony. "No."  
  
He placed it back down where he found it and looked around some more. Here and there he picked up a weapon, but put it back down after deciding it wasn't right. It was hard to find a weapon that didn't carry the name of something used to describe pain, and that's not what he wanted. Finally he reached the very end of the warehouse, which was about the size of a football field. There he saw the perfect weapon, Tega, an alien word for strength. It was a gunblade, basically a broadsword with a rifle inside. This one looks a bit like a heavy claymore, with a large guard on it, where the magazine clips in. When in rifle mode, the blade splits down the middle and opens to reveal the barrel, while the person firing it hold the struts on the guard where the trigger is.  
  
"Perfect," he grabbed the sword and pressed a button on the pommel, the blade split open and the trigger pops into place. He returned it to its sword mode and sheathed it at his hip, it was too long to sheath on his back.  
  
*****  
  
Natsumi Arika stood before the council of dark assassins, awaiting their instructions. They were all talking quietly amongst themselves, so much so that her ears couldn't hear them. She knew that they were talking about her though, since once in a while they would point towards her. The one in the center snapped their fingers and the floor began to shift, long chains erupted from said floor and wrapped around her wrists and ankles.  
  
"Nox, you failed to kill your target, and we do not accept failure in this organization," they said as they rose from their chair.  
  
The hooded figure stepped down from the raised platform and walked over to her. Two gloved hands slowly descended from the sleeves and reached up, pushing the hood back. It was a woman beneath it, wearing a small device over her slim throat. Midnight blue hair had a sort of Raven from Teen Titans look to it, the way it was longer in the front than in the back. Black eyes, which seemed like bottomless pools of death, stared intently into the shorter girl's blue and red eyes. One hand, it doesn't matter which, reached up and removed the device from her throat.  
  
"Natsumi Arika, your services as an assassin are no longer needed," she said in a very sweet voice, and thrust her hand at Natsumi's face, her target was the Demon's Eye.  
  
Upon retrieving it, Natsumi's normal eye regrew in its place. The woman looked at the eye before promptly crushing it, and the demon within, to a squishy mess on her glove. The glove she held up to the girl chained before her, still staring at her intently.  
  
"Lick it off."  
  
"What, no way..." she began to protest, but was silenced by a quick backhand to her face.  
  
"Would you rather I drop you into the pit with the demons; I'm sure they'd love a new playmate like you," she whispered into the frightened girl's ear.  
  
"A-are y-you Shinigami (Japanese god of Death)?" the Japanese girl managed to choke out.  
  
"No, but you're very close," the woman said.  
  
'Nate,' Natsumi sent out a message with every bit of thought she could, 'HELP!'  
  
"The demon's eye failed to keep you in check, how about a demon's heart, would that do?" she licked her lips at the idea and Natsumi cringed.  
  
*****  
  
'Natsumi,' Nate opened his eyes.  
  
TBC  
  
Bet you thought I wasn't going to continue this story, well you were wrong. The nemesis wasn't Quetzalcoatl, but the person behind him and all his actions. It might be the woman now torturing poor Nox, or it could be someone else, I'm not telling. This chapter is a little shorter than normal because I wrote then end of it first, then had to write filler above it. Oh, yeah, I wrote this chapter with a Christmas theme because...well...it's Christmas time. Merry Christmas readers, and have a happy New Year, even though I'll probably see you all before then. 


	11. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I do not own Kim Possible  
  
*~*~* flashback  
  
*~* dreamscape  
  
The Assassin: Nemesis  
  
Chapter 10  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Hot sand whipped at the two people sitting on the dune, a sandstorm was brewing. Anyone else would think that they were crazy, the winds in a sandstorm were strong enough to blow sand with such force they it would literally rip the flesh from your bones. But not the two who were sitting with their legs crossed and hands folded on their laps. Green and purple trench coats whipped around with the winds that ounded them, but no sand was touching them.  
  
"Concentrate your energy, focus it into your palms and form a bubble," Nate said as he easily formed the simple shield.  
  
"Right," Bonnie said, though it was a bit strained, she was having trouble with this method of training.  
  
A few specks of sand passed through her shield, stinging her face, but most were kept out. It was hard for her, and her face was scrunched in concentration, her eyes closed, her teeth gritted and grinding. She chanced a glance at Nate, who was looking as if he were lounging at the beach. Unfortunately, it's not good to get distracted while meditating, and her shield almost fell.  
  
"Keep your mind only on the bubble, envision it in you mind, blocking out all foreign objects," he continued, "listen only to my voice, clear your mind of everything else."  
  
"It's kinda hard to concentrate with you talking."  
  
He stood and extended on hand out in front of him, the shield he'd set up expanding outward, becoming a wall almost fifty feet high. The wind pounded against it, being forced around, along with the sand. He glared down at her, eyes following as she stood up, and brushed off her coat. They had been at this for roughly a month, starting in mid November, and she hadn't progressed as far in the mental training as she had in the physical training.  
  
"You need to be ready for the trials in four months, and if you're not, then you can't be an assassin," he lowered his hand, and the shield stayed where it was.  
  
"What's in four months?" she asked.  
  
"The reunion, Jinai is going to evaluate your skills, and if you don't have these techniques down..." he left her to figure out the rest for herself, needless to say, she got the point. "Well, it's about seven AM in Middleton, we should get back."  
  
"Yeah, it's Friday after all," she said as she brushed the sand from her hair.  
  
A circle formed around them, littered with runes with began to glow with an unearthly light. The circle of light lifted from the sand and settled a bout a foot above Nate's head. It then lowered back to the ground, and as they passed through it, they disappeared.  
  
*****  
  
There were still a few days till the holiday vacation, so, until that day came, the students continued to file into the school. Nate took off his leather coat, a birthday present from Bonnie, and slipped it into his locker. The locker was still pretty bare, just a picture of Bonnie stuck to the door, and a few books. After grabbing the appropriate books, he shut the locker and spun the lock. Something felt off today, but he wasn't sure what; when in a crowd, the number of minds tended to dull his senses, especially around the holidays. He just shrugged and walked off to his first period class.  
  
Upon reaching the English room, he found Bonnie in the back, saving him a seat. He sat next to her and proceeded in closing his eyes, to catch up on the sleep he'd lost the previous night. Bonnie did the same, the training taking more of a toll on her energy than the lack of sleep. Before drifting off to the land of dreams, Nate slipped some sunglasses over his eyes, and handed a pair to Bonnie. Now no one could tell if they were sleeping or not (a friend told me about this, it was a rather funny story). English class this year was boring enough as it is, besides, they could just find out what happened from, and copy notes off of, Kim.  
  
*~*  
  
"Focus your energy, place it in your palms!" Nate's voice bellowed in Bonnie's head.  
  
"I know, I know," she shouted back.  
  
"Then why aren't you, there is less time now than ever," his voice was deafening, then became rather soft and comforting, "you can do this, I know you can."  
  
Bonnie was floating in a very large, very black expanse, and there didn't seem to be anyone else there. Nate's voice had been coming from everywhere and from nowhere at the same time. It welled up from within her, and screamed from the very limits of the expanse. Needless to say, she was complying. Her legs were crossed, and her hands folded in her lap, palms up and thumbs touching, forming a circle of sorts. She concentrated as hard as she could, pouring all her energy into her palms, and was rewarded with a small ball of light. With some focus she was able to expand the ball, forming a bubble around herself, a complete sphere.  
  
Then, out of nowhere, a green blast of energy was fired and struck her shield, it buckled and shook, and threw her around a little, but it did not break. The shield continued to expand, absorbing the energy of the blast to reinforce itself. Bonnie did see it, but she knew that Nate was smiling. And with that smile came a torrent, literally a hailstorm of green blasts, each one hit its target, and each was absorbed into the shield.  
  
*~*  
  
Bonnie awoke when she felt a hand on her shoulder, and heard the bell ringing. Nate was standing over her, his bag slung over his shoulder, and a wry smile on his face. She smiled back as she stood up, almost feeling like skipping.  
  
"You finally did it," he said as they walked up the aisle.  
  
"But that was only a dream, it was in my head," she looked at the floor, suddenly depressed.  
  
"Bonnie, that's the first step, once you believe you can do something, anything is possible," he placed his arm around her shoulder and held her close, taking off the sunglasses. "I'll prove it to you after school."  
  
"Ok."  
  
*****  
  
The last just rang, and students were all filing out of the school, talking and laughing about the coming vacation. Among them was a group of five seniors: Nate, Bonnie, Ron, Tara, and Kim were all chatting happily. As they walked it seemed to Nate that they were being watched, and with a quick look around his suspicions were confirmed. A tall, burly man in a black trench coat was watching them. His hands were in his pockets, sunglasses covered his eyes, and a scarf and hat hid the rest of his face. Nate's eyes narrowed as he stopped laughing at the joke Ron just told.  
  
"Bonnie."  
  
"Hm?"  
  
"Go to the jeep, I'll meet you there," he said still looking at the man.  
  
"Um, okay," she said and lightly kissed him before leaving him in the crowd.  
  
He stood still, and the crowd of students unconsciously moved out of his way. The man moved towards him, slipping through the mass of teenagers as if he didn't even exist. He stopped about ten feet away from Nate, and up close looked even larger than Nate had previous thought. The stranger stood almost seven feet tall, and the outline of two guns, a 9mm and an SMG, the coat obscured the outlines enough, though, that he couldn't tell exactly what kind they were. They spoke once all the students were gone.  
  
"So, what do you want?" the green eyed assassin asked with a hint of annoyance in his voice.  
  
"We have someone you want," he said in a raspy voice.  
  
"Natsumi? What does it matter, she's just reanimated flesh," Nate replied with a shrug of his shoulders.  
  
The man simply smiled, or scowled, Nate couldn't tell through the scarf, but there was something about him that he didn't like. His hand slowly drifted back behind him and began to push his leather jacket up, grasping the hilt of the kunai (ninja throwing knife) he had stored there.  
  
"Oh, not her, I mean the other girl," the part of his face Nate could see was crinkled slightly, confirming he was smiling.  
  
"Not likely," Nate smiled openly this time, revealing his fangs. "Whoever you brought with you is probably dead or in serious pain right now."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"Apparently you haven't been keeping a close enough eye on me," his ear twitch with the sound of crunching bone and screams of pain. "Hall, why do you insist on working for them?"  
  
"The power that I get for my services is more than enough," he said, the crinkle disappearing as he heard the sound too.  
  
"Too bad," Nate said with a slight smile and turned away, exposing the kunai to Hall.  
  
This gesture was meant to show the Pitch Black assassin that he could have been killed at any time. He felt rather than saw Hall reach for the 9mm, whipping it out, then screaming in pain as the kunai stuck through hand, preventing him from holding anything. Nate's hand was raised over his shoulder, his hand holding a small cord, which he jerked to bring his knife back to him. Then he simply faded away.  
  
"Damn him," Hall said and turned around to be face to face with the last person that he expected to see. "Chaos?"  
  
Kyle smirked as he leveled the gunblade at Hall's chest, discharging a single round into his heart. Hall fell to the ground, looking up with a look of confusion in his eyes; why was Chaos doing this.  
  
"I guess you weren't informed of Chaos' untimely death," Kyle said as he shot another round into Hall's head. "Too bad."  
  
The slabs of concrete beneath the Pitch Black assassin opened and swallowed him up. When thye closed back up, there wasn't a single sign that he had even been there. Kyle looked up at the roof of Middleton high school, and saw Nate standing there, arms crossed and a look of slight amusement on his face, then he was gone.  
  
"So, still watching over me, like I need it," he said then started to walk the other way, pulling out the locket he'd taken from the graveyard. "I have someone else to do that."  
  
*****  
  
Nate arrived in the parking lot not long after Hall's death; Bonnie was sitting on the hood of the Jeep Wrangler, that was the only vehicle in the lot besides the one's belonging to teachers. Snow was piled up in large banks all over the lot, one in particular was stained with blood. He noticed this, and also noticed how Bonnie was hiding her hands in her coat pockets. When he got to the jeep, he sat on the hood with her, laying his arm across her shoulders.  
  
"What happened?"  
  
"He got away," she looked disappointed and pulled her hands out of her pockets. Two long gashes covered both of her palms.  
  
"You grabbed the blade?" he asked absentminded probing her open memory.  
  
She nodded was about slip her hands back into her pockets when Nate grabbed them and held them in his own. Bonnie winced at the pain radiating from her hands, and then sighed when the pain dissipated. Looking down at her hands, the blood and gashes were gone, and they sat serenely in Nate's hands. He slid off the hood and gently pulled her with him, leading her to the passenger side door. She got in and he walked around to the other side and slid the keys in the ignition.  
  
"You okay?" he asked before turning the key.  
  
"Yeah, I just feel bad that I let him get away," she looked out the window at the red snow, he may have gotten away, but not without a broken nose and a few missing teeth.  
  
"Did he say what his name was?"  
  
"Crow."  
  
'Hm, so Raven's brother want's revenge,' Nate thought as he shifted the jeep into gear and took off through the parking lot. 'It won't do him much good.'  
  
*****  
  
"Now, now, now little Natsumi, struggling won't do you any good," the woman said from outside the barriers. "It just drains your life more. Would you rather die than have a chance to get him back?"  
  
"What?" Natsumi looked up at her tormentor, who she now knew as Mor, a slight look of curiosity. "What do you mean?"  
  
Mor smirked as she said, "If you would just trust me, I can help you get Nate back. I know what's in your mind, no matter how hard you try to be happy for him, you can't get over that he found someone else. It eats you up inside, doesn't it?"  
  
She stepped forward through the barrier, practically pressing herself up against the now terrified girl. Brushing a few strands of hair out of Natsumi's face, blue eyes held by bottomless black pools. Right before the Asian's very eyes two small tendrils began to extend from Mor's eyes, waving lightly in the air as they covered the distance between them.  
  
The tendrils began to touch Natsumi's eyes, sliding along her cornea and across the white expanses (I forget the scientific term for it) to the edge, and slowly began to burrow into it. They circled around her eyes, and continued through the holes behind her eyes into her skull to touch her brain.  
  
Through all this Natsumi stayed completely still, not even daring to breathe as Mor's tendrils touched her brain. The tendrils disconnected from Mor's eyes and continued to burrow into her eyes until they were gone, completely absorbed into the young girl's brain.  
  
"There, now we're like sisters," Mor said with an evil smirk as she pulled the cadaver into a hug, which she whole-heartedly returned. "How do you feel?"  
  
"I feel good," Natsumi said as she laid her head against the taller woman's chest. "Free."  
  
*****  
  
"Concentrate all available energy into your palm, form it into a ball," Nate said walking around Bonnie, checking her posture and her levels.  
  
They stood, in their trench coats, in a secluded section of the park, away from everyone else. Bonnie stood in the middle of a clearing, one hand held out in front of her, palm up, her other hand holding the forearm of the one that was up. They were practicing launching and blocking energy attacks, and Bonnie was moving much faster through the offensive stage than the defensive stage. Nate stepped in front of her and held his hand up, one finger pointing forward.  
  
"On three," he said as a small green ball, about the size of a BB, appeared at his fingertip. "Three."  
  
The ball flashed outward, striking Bonnie's shield and throwing her back across the clearing, into a tree. Snow fell from the branches, covering her. Nate stood there, waiting patiently for her to get up and continue. He knew that she was beating herself up inside to get through this, it was hard for someone emerging so late. It was his fault, if he hadn't been so blinded by other things he might have seen this power growing in her a long time ago.  
  
"Get up, we're not done yet," he called to her as she began to stir.  
  
"I'm up, I'm up," she said as she wobbled to her feet, almost falling, but caught herself; it had been a while since she learned he wasn't going to baby her, that blast of energy was proof of it. "Again?"  
  
"Of course," he held his hand up again, the tiny ball of energy forming again. "Now remember to clear your mind and concentrate, you aren't doing that."  
  
"But, what about the others?"  
  
"They can take care of themselves," he snapped as he fired, and she evaded. "Don't dodge, you have to learn to block, if you wear yourself out physically where is the mental energy going to come from to fire back?"  
  
He fired again and again, and again she dodged, this only served to make him even more irritated than before. If she would not embrace her powers, then she would never realize her full potential, she would just be a fumbling little girl for the rest of her life. This was getting old, so instead of firing from a distance he...  
  
"Hello," he said as he suddenly appeared right in her face, his hand an open palm a few inches from her abdomen.  
  
The next moment he fired and there was a flash of purple that deflected his bast up into the sky. Then Bonnie hit the ground, rolled, and flipped to her feet, breathing heavily. She was ready for his next attack, but it never came, he just stood there smiling. Her head cocked to the side a little, wondering what he was smiling about. The answer came as the energy blast he fired exploded about a mile up, looking for all the world like a burst of fireworks (think of something like the end of MIB 2).  
  
"See, your mind was clear and your energy focused," he laughed a little. "Now we just have to work on doing it not in the heat of battle."  
  
"What time is it?" Bonnie asked as she relaxed her stance.  
  
"About...two AM," he looked down at his watch. "We should probably be getting back."  
  
"Yeah."  
  
*****  
  
"Here it is, the Arch of Algonius," Sashna said pointing to a structure that looked like an ordinary garden arbor. "If the person stepping under it is pure of heart, then it will grant their souls deepest desire."  
  
"R-really," Aeris asked stepping around it, looking the arch up and down. "I'll finally be cured of this hunger?"  
  
"Mmhmm," the cat-girl nodded vigorously. "But if there's taint, it'll kill you."  
  
"I see," she eyed the arch a little more and then turned to girl next to her. "Do you mean carnal taint, or pure evil taint?"  
  
"Um...the second one I think, I'm not entirely sure," she shrugged.  
  
"Oh," Aeris looked again at the arch, hoping that it would work. "Well...no way to know but to try."  
  
She took one more step into the unknown.  
  
*****  
  
"Sam, could you pass me the flour?" Dr. Possible asked.  
  
"Sure," she grabbed the bag out of the cabinet and handed it to her. "Anything else?"  
  
"The yeast, please."  
  
"Here you go."  
  
Kim's mother thanked her and added the yeast to the breadmaker. Shego, being slightly awkward in the kitchen, was taking lessons from Dr. Possible. She would have asked her own mother, but she wasn't in at the moment.  
  
"I don't know why you didn't ask Ron," she said while adding some sugar and then starting the breadmaker.  
  
"I can't do that, asking someone younger than I am for pointers on cooking just isn't me," Shego said with a slight whine to her voice.  
  
"Asking for help wasn't beneath your mother," Anne (I'm just going to call her that) half-scolded. "But, then again, you aren't your mother."  
  
"Exactly."  
  
*****  
  
Nate sat in his chair by the fire, a sword held across his lap. The handle was in one hand and the blade in the other, sharp edge down. It pressed lightly into his skin, not enough to break it, the sword wasn't the heavy, but it would leave a mark. His eyes were closed as he slowly mouthed words that were meant to calm him, and his mental reach was quite evident; as he calmed down, as did the fire little less than a yard away.  
  
"Nate?" Bonnie's voice asked from the kitchen door.  
  
"Yes?" he cracked an eye open and swiveled it to look at her.  
  
"Um...I was wondering...when will I get my own weapon?" she asked rather hesitantly, like it was something else she wanted to ask, but changed her mind at the last minute.  
  
"Well, I suppose all you have to do is choose one," he gestured to the wall across from him, which still held its fair share of weaponry; a week ago he returned most of it. "Take your pick."  
  
She walked over to the weapons, looking at each one carefully. It was a tough decision, there were so many to choose from. Finally her gaze settled on a chain in the corner. It was pretty long, almost ten feet, but she knew better, she knew it could extend itself to almost any length. At one end of the chain was a kama, and at the other end was a weight, to balance it out. She flicked her wrist and the chain coiled itself in her hand. The chain then disappeared, and the ball was fixed to the bottom of the kama.  
  
"The nebula chain, good choice," Nate smiled a little as he got up, sheathing the sword as he went. "If you twist the ball, the kama will extend into a sword."  
  
Bonnie twisted the ball and the blade turned so it faced upwards, then extended to a length of roughly 30 inches, as opposed to its previous ten inches. It was double edged, the outside edge sharpening itself as it grew. Her eyes lit up when she saw that with another flick of her wrist the blade broke up and the sections were connected by the chain that had disappeared.  
  
"Oh I love it," she said as she retracted it to its kama form and hooked it to her belt.  
  
"I thought you might."  
  
TBC  
  
I have to end it there, this is taking way too long to get done. I know I've told you all that I prefer my chapters to be between eight and ten pages on Microsoft Word (font size 10). And this one comes just short of that, the last line of dialogue is two stupid inches short of eight pages. Well, I hope I get a few more reviews for this story than I have. Don't expect the next chapter anytime soon, I'll be helping Felicia get her next chapter finished, the girl cannot keep her mind on one thing long enough to finish it. Well...that's not exactly true...there are some things she can keep her mind on (**wink wink nudge nudge**). That's it from me for now, look for an update on "The Mutant" by the end of April, hopefully. 


	12. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I do not own Kim Possible. 

Okay, long, long overdue chapter, thank you, though, for waiting so patiently. I never thought that writing so many stories at once would be so taxing on my mind. The ideas won't come so easily anymore. Given that I already have an ending for this, with quite the twist to it, I can't figure out a way to get to it. Oh well, I guess all I can do is my best, and that should be all you can expect.

I'm going to be trying some HTML code this time, so, if it doesn't work, I'll know what I did wrong. 

( ) author's notes 

== - dreamscape 

- telepathy 

The Assassin: Nemesis 

Chapter 11 

Cowritten by Nate and Felicia

* * *

The day had finally come, Christmas Vacation, a whole two weeks without school. It still felt odd to him to be with people, before last year, he had been alone on Christmas, usually on a job. 

'But now that's over,' Nate thought as he laid on the couch, Bonnie laying with him. 'All of this just feels so right, so complete...' 

They had been in this position since they had gotten back from school this snowy, Friday afternoon. Bonnie seemed to be completely drained from balancing her training, and school, and her life outside of both. She was asleep, her arm reaching behind her, curling around Nate to pull him closer, and, at the same time, trapping his around her. 

As the demi-god watched her, she slowly began to stir, her face contorting slightly, as if she were having a nightmare. He knew she had told him, repeatedly, not to enter her dreams, but now he couldn't help it. No one else was home, and he couldn't stop his hand from resting on her cheek, lightly caressing her soft olive skin. Closing his eyes, he concentrated, placing himself as a simple spectator. 

== 

Nate appeared in Bonnie's old house, but it looked much different. Furniture was turned over and askew, picture frames were torn from the wall and flung across the room, and the walls had large holes in them. It was raining outside, lightening flashing and thunder roaring against the window. Looking down at himself, he saw that he was wearing a pair of black shorts with his usual tank top, and was barefoot. His head whipped around when he heard whimpering coming from the room behind him. 

"Bonnie?" he walked into the room, wincing slightly at the glass shards sticking into his feet. 

There, in the corner of the room, which he had deduced to be the dining room, was a sobbing little girl. He recognized the hair and the skin, and the cheerleading outfit; it was Bonnie, when she was younger. Stepping forward, he stooped in front of the girl and gently placed his hand on her head, only to have it slide right through. 

"Right, spectator," he stood and turned around upon hearing a noise. 

There he was, Bonnie's father, an oafish brute of a man; jet black hair was slicked back, wide shoulders squared almost evenly with his massive lower jaw, and barrel chest heaving. His eyes were completely blank, Bonnie most likely didn't remember, or chose not to remember their color. 

"See what you made me do, you stupid, little girl," he said, his voice carrying a slight slur to it. 

As Nate watched, he saw him grab her by the hair and pull her up to eye contact; his other hand struck out, slapping her hard across the face with a vicious backhand. She sailed through the air, through Nate, and into the hall, onto the glass shards of broken picture frames. He saw the glass slice into her skin, leaving long gashed, which started a pool of blood on the floor. His hands clenched as the man who dared call himself her father walked right through him. 

He grabbed the girl again, and began dragging her upstairs, to which Nate followed, having a feeling he knew what was coming. He rounded the corner and saw him pull her into a bedroom, his bedroom. Nate walked down the hall and looked in the room, his eyes widening when he saw him throw Bonnie onto the bed and start to rip off her clothes. 

"No more spectating," he said and stepped forward, a wave passing over him. His voice became more of a growl with what he said next, "Get off her, NOW!" 

"Wha', who the hell are you?" Rockwaller turned to him, then back to Bonnie, slapping her. "One of your friends?" 

"Yes, I am," Nate strode forward, grabbed the man by the scruff of the neck, and threw him to the floor. His hand whipped around and launched a sphere of light at the floor, dropping him to the first floor, onto the dining room table. 

Teeth gritting, he jumped through the hole, landing on Rockwaller's chest, forcing him down, the table collapsing beneath them. He struck out again and again, pummeling this man's face into a pulp; the first punch broke his jaw, the second knocked his left eye into his head, the third gave his right eye a similar treatment. By the time he was done, you would never have recognized him as Bonnie's father. He stood up, stepped off Rockwaller, and started to walk towards the stairs. 

Bonnie was there, not young Bonnie, his Bonnie; she sat on the third stair up, the sheet from her parents' bed wrapped around her. Tears streaked down her face, her eyes red from crying, and her entire body was shaking. As he got closer, she refused to look at him, at the blood on his hands, the blood on his feet, and his soft, caring eyes. He sat next to her, and placed an arm around her shoulders. At that she just broke down, crying hard into his shoulder. 

"This is what you didn't want me to see?" he asked, placing his other arm around her, hugging her. 

"Yes," she answered between sobs. 

"Why not, why didn't you want me to know this?" he pulled her closer, resting his forehead atop her head. 

"Because, I knew if you knew, then you would try to kill him," she pointed at the body not ten feet away. 

"Bonnie, how can you let this happen? Every night I watch you twist and turn in torment, and can't do a thing because you barred me from your mind," he gently stroked her hair. "I can't bare to see you unhappy, Bonnie; I couldn't let that monster continue to do this to you." 

"I...Nate...I'm so sorry," she buried herself further into his shoulder, seeing the scars there from his battle with Quetzalcoatl. "All this is my fault, it's all my fault." 

Now it was Nate's turn to slap her, not hard, but just enough to get her attention. 

"Listen to me, none of this is your fault, so stop taking responsibility for my mistakes," he said a little too forcefully, then he softened. "Bonnie, I love you, you know I do, please, don't beat yourself up for what you haven't done." 

"Nate," she looked up at him, finally, and leaned forward, kissing him harder than she had in a long time. "Thank you, for everything." 

"Come on, time to wake up," he smiled and she returned it wholeheartedly. 

== 

Bonnie's eyes were first to open, feeling the soft touch on her cheek, and gently brushed the hand away. As she was doing so, the hand grabbed hers and brought it behind her, for Nate to lightly kiss it. She blushed and pulled her hand away; no one, not a single person she had knows was like him. Many promised as much, but none had ever delivered. He was, for lack of a better term, the best thing that had ever happened to her. 

"Nate?" 

"Hm?" 

"I meant it, thanks for everything." 

"I know, Bonnie, and I meant what I said," his hand moved from where he had let hers go, to her abdomen, and lightly rubbed it. "I know I don't say it enough, but I love you Bonnie (It has come to my attention while reading some back chapters of this story, but Nate has never told Bonnie he loves her. Why didn't anyone call me on that?)." 

The door then opened and in walked Shego, no Kim this time, talking off her scarf and winter coat. She looked over at the two on the couch, snickering slightly at the compromising situation they were in. Her hat came next, her long hair spilling out from where it had been confined. Boots were next, being placed in the closet, on the mat, to soak up the water. 

"Well, looked like you two had a productive evening," she said with a smile as she sat in the chair adjacent to the couch. 

"You could say that," Nate said as he settled further in to the couch, pulling Bonnie closer in the process. 

"Where's Kim?" Bonnie asked, having expected the two lovers to be together. 

"She went home to help her mother put up Christmas decorations," the raven-haired fighter said. 

Nate found this somewhat odd, surely Shego would have gone with her. It didn't make sense for Kim to just send Shego away, unless there was something wrong. 

"Does she want it to be a surprise, or something like that?" her brother, the seemingly all-knowing one, asked. 

"Yeah, that...that's exactly it," she stammered slightly, wondering how he knew that exactly. 

"I thought so," he said, closing his eyes. "You two are too close to be experiencing any type of separation, and most of the villains are dead; so she can't be off to 'save the world.'" 

Bonnie giggled a little at that, she remembered those days, when she would always rag on Kim for being late for, or missing, cheerleading practice. Then, one day, this boy showed up and changed everything for them. Even though he had originally seemed to be after Kim, she now knew that it was just to get her to realize her feelings for Shego. And since that night at the Holloween party, she had just been infatuated with him. 

'But he always seemed so far away, so untouchable,' she thought as she placed her hand over the one that was on her stomach. 'Then he just showed up with his mother, and gave me that cloak (which she still has), it was like it was meant to be.' 

Then her thoughts were interrupted as Shego turned the TV on, trying to find something to watch. The channels flicked by on the large screen, barely on one before it changed to another. Finally the channel surfing stopped on something they could all watch, the preview channel. 

"Man, five thousand channels, and nothing to watch," Shego moaned as she sat further in the chair. 

"There's always anime," Nate said. 

"Yeah, but the good stuff doesn't start for another hour."

* * *

"Hey, Mom, what would be a good gift for Sam?" Kim asked as she checked her bank account. "I want this year to be really special." 

"Well," her mother said from the kitchen, "you could always make her something." 

Kim sighed as she slumped onto the couch, how do you get a gift for a woman who could have just about anything she wanted? She knew that with just the flick of her wrist, Shego would have half the boys, and many of the girls, from Middleton High groveling at her feet. Pulling out her kimmunicator, she started searching through clothing websites for something her girlfriend might like. 

Her boots, last year's gift from Shego, sat by the door. Shego had given her them after a hiking accident, where hers had been torn beyond repair. This year her gift had to be something she would never expect, something so outrageous, so extravagant, that nothing could ever top it. A ring, no, a necklace, no, earrings, no, no, no, nothing was good enough. 

"Why is this so hard?" she whined. "I'm Kim Possible, I can do anything...except shop for the love of my life." 

She turned to lay on her back, kimmunicator held up at arms' length. Continuing to hit buttons, she searched and searched, trying to find a way to find out what Shego would want. Then it hit her, why not ask the person who knew her best...Nate. quickly her fingers looked up the Sindel house number, and dialed.

* * *

The phone rang, and Nate reached over the back of the couch to grab it off the small table behind it. First he checked the number, and pressed the talk button. 

"Hello?" 

"Hey, Nate, good, I was hoping to talk to you," he heard Kim's voice. 

"Oh, and why me?" he asked, a little suspicious now. 

"Because I need to know what to get Sam for Christmas." 

"Ah, I see, well I'm sure that she'll love whatever you get her," he said reassuringly. 

"I know, but can you meet me in the park in, like, ten minutes?" she asked in a bit of a hesitant voice. 

"Sure, we can discuss this there." 

"Thanks, see you there." 

There was a click, and the line went dead. He clicked the phone off and placed it back on the receiver. Turning to Shego, he saw that she already knew who it was, and what it was about. Looking down, he saw that Bonnie was asleep again, this time with a smile on her face. Gently he pulled himself out from behind her and stood up, making his way for the closet. 

"What did Kim want?" Shego asked. 

"Oh, I had almost forgotten that her and I planned to go shopping together," he quickly half-lied, knowing that this little expedition will lead them to the mall. 

"Okay, well, don't stay out too late," she said in a 'I'm-the-big-sister-and-I'm-just-looking-out-for-you' tone. 

"If she wakes up, tell her I went shopping," he pulled on his coat and boots, lacing them up, and tightening the knot. "Dinner is in the fridge, try to finish off some of the leftovers." 

"Alright, alright," she waved him off as he opened the door and was gone. "He's just like Mom sometimes."

* * *

It didn't take long for Nate to get to the park, especially with his jeep having four-wheel drive (honestly, I can't live without it). He had only been waiting a few minutes when Kim pulled up in her little VW Bug, the traction was so bad she almost slid into his precious vehicle. By a sheer stroke of luck, or maybe it was skill, she managed to slide into the spot next to him. 

"Luck or skill, gotta give her some credit," he said to himself as the door opened and she got out. 

"Thanks for coming, Nate," she said as she reached him. "I don't know if I can do this without an expert." 

"Well, I'm glad you called me then," he smiled a little, though he doubt she saw it in the near-blizzard conditions they were standing in. "So, what should we do." 

"We should probably head to the mall..." 

'Called that one,' Nate thought with a bemused sense of self-satisfaction. 

"...that way we'll have everything right there for us to choose from." 

"Right, we'll take my jeep," he said, and started right for it. 

"Why not my car?" 

"Kim, I don't care if you can 'do anything,' I don't trust you driving in the snow," he called back over his shoulder. "Come on, it's all warmed up and ready to go." 

"Well, alright, if you insist." 

He got to the door and opened it for her, then closed it and walked around, getting into the driver's side. Almost out of pure instinct he knocked her hand away from the stereo, glaring at her in the process. 

"Don't be messing with my radio, Kim," he growled, barely containing himself from ripping her arm off. If there was one thing you didn't do in his jeep, it was touch his radio. 

She huffed and settled back in her seat, pulling the seatbelt around and hooking it in. Rock music began to blare from the stereo, loud and hard. Meteora would be the name of the CD, and Linkin Park the name of the band, the song was...um...who cares what song, they all kick ass. The only thing that mattered to Nate was that Kim knew who controlled what they listen too.

* * *

Luckily for them the snow was keeping most of the people in town indoors, so the roads were practically barren. Nate had one hand on the steering wheel, the other on the armrest, fingers drumming to the beat. Kim, having gotten used to having control, was sitting with her arms crossed; trying to find what Nate found interesting this music. She, of course, got to pick what to listen to in Shego's car, mainly because they enjoyed the same music. 

They pulled into the mall parking lot in almost no time at all, and Nate, just for fun, did a few donuts in a mostly empty portion. Finally he parked and turned off the radio, removing the faceplate in the process. He and Kim got out and started for the mall, him pressing a button on his remote to lock the jeep. 

Her mood seemed to lighten as they entered the large building, which, as always, was bustling with people. She grabbed Nate's hand and started pulling him towards a store, but soon realized she wasn't moving. Through a combination of her shoes being too wet, and Nate not wanting to be moved, she merely succeeded in making a small spectacle of herself. 

"Kim, there's no hurry, we have all day," he said as he pulled his hand from hers. 

"Oh, I thought we would do this really quick." 

Nate sighed heavily as he wiped his shoes on the mat provided, taking his time. "Sam is, how shall I say, hard to shop for. She may seem to be all about material things, but really she just wants the people around her to be happy. Besides, you and I haven't hung out in a while without the others." 

"Right," she conceded, 'again.' 

As they walked through the mall, they looked in just about every store they thought might have something. Nate felt odd about this; like this situation would never present itself ever again, like he would never be this happy again. He couldn't quite understand it, but, instead of letting it trouble him, he simply went about his business. After checking all the jewelry stores, they decided to check out Club Banana, it was always worth a visit anyway. Upon entering, they saw Monique working the register, Kim was quick to break away to talk to her friend. 

'I wonder if she would like this?' he picked up a purple sweater, then put it down, realizing she already had this one. 'It's harder than shopping for Mom.' 

"Hey, Nate, come on, I don't think we're gonna find anything here," Kim called from the door. 

After a quick wave to Monique, they were gone, heading down the north wing of the massive mall. While walking, they passed Josh Mankey, who seemed to be in the grasp of one of Kim's fellow cheerleaders. 

"You know, Josh actually asked me if Sam and I weren't seeing each other," Kim said in a quiet tone. 

"Well, from the looks of it," Nate cast a glance over his shoulder at the boy, "he wants another go." 

"Psh, like I would ever let that happen, again," the redhead scoffed at that memory. "That time in my life is over." 

"Agreed," he nodded looking around, "let's try there." 

"Sure." 

They entered the small store and looked around at all the different trinkets it had to offer. There were quite a few shiny stones and polished rocks, a few woven baskets, and some small statues of ancient deities. Nate seemed particularly interested in those, looking at each one thoroughly. He would laugh and snicker at a few of them, remember what a few of them had been like. Others he glared at with a look of deep contempt, also remembering what they had been like. After a few minutes he found his, and picked it up, looking at the statue of what his people viewed him as. 

He met Kim at the register and saw her holding a small, blue stone, with what looked like a storm of color swirling within. She looked down at what he got, and then back up at him, smiling at the resemblance. They reached the register and Nate gestured her to go first. The woman rang them up and they were gone, Nate having paid considerably more than Kim for the statue. 

"So, what will Bonnie do with that?" Kim asked, eyeing the box that contained the gift. "Why would she need it if she's already got the real thing?" 

"For posterity," he replied. "Hey, can I stash this at your place for now?" 

"Sure, you guys are coming over for Christmas dinner anyway," Kim said in a matter-of-factly tone, "right?" 

"Yeah, unless something comes up, we'll be there." 

Glancing at his watch, Nate saw that they had been there for almost three hours, and the skylights above told them that night had settled in. No real surprise there, it was winter after all, and the days were getting shorter. Soon it would be the winter solstice, the time when the darkness was at its strongest. He was hoping that she wasn't going to try anything. 

'Mor, please, give me no trouble this year,' he silently pleaded. 

They passed Josh again, who was looking even more depressed this time around. He eagerly waved to them, almost begging them to come over to where he was. It was by this time they noticed he was alone, no hyped-up cheerleader hanging off him. Nate looked to Kim, and she looked at him, together they nodded and strode over to him. 

"Hey Kim, who's this?" he asked, giving Nate a sideways glance. 

"Nate Sindel, how have you been Josh?" Nate asked as he extended his hand. "Mother doing alright, how about your little brother?" 

"Uh, they're fine," Josh said as he scratched his head, his other hand taking Nate's and shaking it, wincing as the assassin squeezed. 

"Nate, stop that, be nice," Kim said almost playfully as she batted his shoulder. 

He let go of Josh's hand and placed it back on the gift, smirking a little as he did. 

"So, Josh, what brings you here?" Kim asked. 

"Oh, you know, last minute gifts for second and third cousins," Josh answered, though he seemed a little preoccupied with his hand. 

"That's cool, well, we should get going," she said and started to move away. "Merry Christmas, Josh." 

"Yeah, same to you," he said, with a look in his eyes that gave Nate a strange feeling. 

As they walked away, Nate knew that the teen was still watching them, well, to be more precise, he was watching Kim. For some reason, Nate couldn't see into his mind, someone was blocking him, and I'll give you three guesses as to who it is. There was no real reason for her to have any interest in that boy, Kim had given up on him when the 'incident' had been resolved. 

"Kim, I think I'd better drive you home, we can get your car tomorrow," Nate said in a very casual manner. 

"Nate, I'm quite capable of driv..." 

"I don't want to hear anything about it, your car sucks in the snow, and I have a bad feeling about tonight," he stopped her before she could say anything else. "I let you drive that thing in weather like this, we'll go and pick it up tomorrow." 

"Well, if you have a bad feeling, then we should probably just drop off the gifts at my house, and then go to yours. Does that sound better?" 

"Better for who, me, or Sam?" he winked and Kim giggled a little. 

They reached the door to the parking lot where the jeep was parked, and Nate opened the door. While holding it for Kim, he looked back the way they came, and saw that Josh had followed them. He smirked again as he followed Kim out the door, then used a slight mental push to lock it. They walked through the deepening snow to the vehicle, and Nate unlocked it. He helped Kim in, and then got in himself, stealing a glance back at the door to see Josh struggling with the locked door. 

'That takes care of one problem,' he thought as he started the engine. 

TBC 

Well, that's the newest chapter, can you believe it only took me three sleepless nights to write this? Yes, I have been neglecting this story, and for that I apologize, there's not reason for it. Heh, all I needed was some good music, something to jar the creative side of my brain. I'm hoping the HTML tags that I placed here will work, I gotta find out how they do that. Who's they? Other authors, of course. Okay, here's what I need your help with, should I have Josh complete whatever he was meaning to do, or should I just have him stay at door.


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